◆BY Wu Xiaogang

　　The Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) has set an ambitious goal to maintain its average annual economic growth rate of 20 per cent by focusing on the bioengineering industry in the coming 10 years, said TEDA's top officials.

　　The area plans to develop bioengineering technology (BT) as one of its main industries in addition to information technology (IT), which now accounts for about 70 per cent of the total industrial output of the TEDA.

　　He plan to readjust the industrial structure within 5 to 10 years, reaching the goal of both BT and IT occupying about 35 per cent of the total industrial output respectively, said Pi Qiansheng, director of Tianjin Binhai New District Administrative Commission, which is in charge of administrative management of the TEDA.

　　Pi, who is also a doctor of economics, said that although it produced billions of output and profits in the TEDA, the IT industry faces furious competition and a very short period for technique upgrades in the world market. It is very crucial for the industry to consider how to be seasoned to market challenges and to restructure the whole industry in the near future.

　　We have the potential domestic market of at least 1.3 billion population and the new industry will play an important role in the long-term development in industry and agriculture and in improving living standard, such as in pharmaceutical manufacturing and biological farming,?Pi said.

　　To achieve the goal, efforts will be made to make better use of foreign investment, apply science and technology, recruit talented scientists and other talented people as well as strengthen trans-regional co-operation, he added.

　　The area has become home to many foreign companies, not only to the IT enterprises, such as Motorola, Honeywell, Yamaha and Matsushita, but also several BT corporations, including Nov Nordisk and Sunrider.

　　Twenty-five of the world's top 100 industrial enterprises have invested in the Tianjin area. The success is mainly due to excellent infrastructure facilities, a streamlined and effective government and emphasis on rule by law, he noted. Foreign investors sometimes complain about government bureaucracy in approval procedures and other affairs, Pi said: But it is not the case in the Tianjin development area.?

　　The 33-square-kilometre development area, which was approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, in December 1984, is one of China's largest and first approved economic and technological development zones.

　　On the saline-alkali land along the Bohai beach, the area has developedsintosa leading development zone in terms of scale, economic efficiency and growth rate, Pi added.

　　The area's gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 26 per cent during the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000) period.

　　The area's GDP hit 31.2 billion yuan (US.77 billion) in 2001, accounting for 12 per cent of Tianjin's total, Pi said.

　　Great efforts have been made in creating a soft investment environment, including one-Internet office, e-community and e-business, in line with international practices.

　　The zone has set up a co-ordination team for construction projects, a tax registration center and an inspection center for exported and imported goods. TEDA puts human resources first

　　In 1984, when China began to expand the drive of opening to the outside world, TEDA was still a saline-alkali soil with little green plants while high buildings erecting like mushrooms in Shenzhen Economic Special Zone in South China's Guangdong province.

　　Since then, TEDA, like other economic development zones in China, considered how to recruit talented employees and co-operate with research institutes to improve its chances of success.

　　During the past 18 years, many economic development areas in China have made ambitious science and high-technology-oriented expansion plans.

　　Hiring talented scientists and other talented people has been recognized as a key to the success of these plans.

　　Two years ago, TEDA declared that it would set aside a 100 million yuan (US.05 million) risk investment and incentive fund each year to attract high-technology projects. Experts and scientists who make significant contributions to TEDA's program would be awarded up to 3 million yuan (US,440).

　　At the TEDA, the Xi'an-based Weiyang High Technology Development Area and especially at Beijing's Zhongguancun high-tech zone, administrators are providing incentives to capable people.

　　According to Zhang Guilin, deputy director of Zhongguancun's administrative commission, the prominent science park will give experts working there a eeling of home by providing affordable housing, schooling for their children and permanent residency in Beijing.

　　Li Yong, director of TEDA's administrative commission, said that he believes inflows of more talented people are needed to transform the area's economic structure, which traditionally mainly relied upon smokestack industries.

　　Tianjin is facing a big challenge of making its ends meet on human talent as competition from other rivals looms, Li said.

　　But favorable measures on the personnel side are not all that are needed to win or retain talented employees.

　　I returned to my homeland mainly to start my own business, Huang Wei, a computer engineer, said.

　　Zhang said Zhongguancun provides venture investment and favorable tax policies to originators of promising enterprises.

　　Skilled workers, especially IT professionals, are being sought by Asian economic powerhouses such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo as well as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, putting TEDAsintosa tough competition, he said.

　　Local administrative commission has been making noticeable efforts to upgrade its infrastructure during the past decade, making it more appealing as a location for businesses as well as homes.

　　Several years ago, it was as if TEDA was sleeping. When night fell, high buildings were very lonely on the beach, he said.

　　He said the local government made a wise decision in building solid infrastructure in the development area, including bridges, ports and residential houses, even high-quality villas.

　　This, he said, created a favorable business environment for investors.

　　The TEDA also set up a business innovation incubator in 1998, which has provided 150 million yuan (US million) in venture investment to more than 30 high-technology companies.

　　TEDA is in investors good graces

　　Tianjin, one of China's major industrial powerhouses and coastal cities, continues to be hotly chased by overseas investors and businessmen.

　　When mentioning the TEDA, people may think about a list of well-known companies in the world, such as Motorola, Kodak, Yamaha, Nestle, Coco Cola, Samsung, AST and SEW, all of them set their own factory or Joint Venture in the area.

　　Among these transnational corporations, Motorola is regarded as the best example of co-operation with the TEDA since its establishment in 1984.

　　After several years efforts, Motorola has expanded its business all the country by its high-tech products, including mobile phone and other telecommunications products.

　　Two years ago, Motorola announced a US.9 billion investment plan intended to position the company for regional leadership in the semiconductor and cellular phone businesses and make it the largest foreign investor in China.

　　The investment would focus on two sites in North China's Tianjin - the Motorola Tianjin Integrated Semiconductor Manufacturing Complex and the Motorola Asia Telecommunication Product Manufacturing Site.

　　It is one of the largest single foreign-funded projects in China, outstripping General Motor's US.6 billion car company in Shanghai.

　　Motorola has seen its accumulated investment in the country reach 28.56 billion yuan (US.44 billion). He have a long, valued relationship with the people of China. This latest investment builds on that historical commitment and significantly strengthens our partnership with China to create new business opportunities, said Christopher B Galvin, chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola.

　　Galvin explained that his company has chosen to expand presence in China now because of the quick recovery of Asian economies and the robust economic situation in China. It makes good business sense to invest here, Galvin said at the press conference jointly held with Tianjin Mayor Li Shenglin.

　　China's vast market potential for telecommunications products and expected entrysintosthe World Trade Organization have prompted foreign companies to speed up their steps to expand operations here.

　　Also, Nokia announced a plan in 2000 to build a cellular phone manufacture complex in Beijing involving an investment of 10 billion yuan (US.20 billion). Siemens also pledged to channel US.5 billion in the coming two years to tap Asia's mobile phone market, of which around US billion will be in China.

　　The highlight of the Motorola investment will be the Motorola Tianjin Integrated Semiconductor Manufacturing Complex, currently known as MOS 17 (Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The new site will focus on producing semiconductor solutions - Digital DNA - to support wireless communications devices, automobile electronics, and other advanced consumer products.

　　Employment at the manufacturing complex is expected to reach 2,400 people when full production begins at the end of this year.

　　The site will be a key contributor towards moving us closer to our customers in China and Asia as those markets continue to expand. The result will be greater market opportunities for Motorola, supplied by our China facilities and exports from the US and other locations, Galvin said.

　　Initial product deliveries from the new manufacturing complex will supply Motorola's customers in China and the broader Asia-Pacific market.

　　The semiconductor market in China is growing at 17 per cent per year and is forecasted to reach 151 billion yuan (US.19 billion) by 2004.

　　Yao Tiancong, a division chief who oversees Motorola's semiconductor business in Asia-Pacific, said the convergence of computer, communications and consumer markets in China will drive market demand for the digital solutions based on embedded semiconductors.

　　Forecasts for cellular phone demand in China expect a compound growth rate of 37 per cent over the next five years.

　　He don't think there is another company right now in China producing such chips, Yao said.

　　Industry insiders note that the semiconductors integrated in the mobile phones manufactured in China are imported.

　　Recent reports reveal that some local mobile phone producers face shortages of semiconductor supply although the market demand for mobile phones keeps rising.

　　By 2003, the worldwide market for these kinds of products will be 230 billion yuan (US.4 billion), representing 11 per cent of the world semiconductor market sales.

　　As part of the investment, Motorola plans to expand the current manufacturing facility in the Tianjin Economic Technological Development Areaswheresmost of the company's wireless handsets and systems are manufactured. The location will be known as the Motorola Asia Telecommunication Product Manufacturing Site.

　　The operation would focus on manufacturing telecommunication products, including cellular subscriber and infrastructure products.