The Binhai New Area of Tianjin, a port city and economic center in north China, attracted a record US$5.665 billion of contracted foreign funds in the first 11 months this year, up 23.9 percent year-on-year, according to local commerce authorities on Friday.

 

The area used a record US$2.413 billion of foreign funds in the 11-month period, up 20.4 percent from last year's same period, according to the Tianjin Municipal Commerce Commission.

 

The contracted amount of foreign funds and the used amount of foreign funds made up 76.7 percent and 67.4 percent, respectively, of the Tianjin's total for the same period. The two rates were respectively 7.3 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points higher than that for the same period of last year.

 

The Binhai New Area is a national pilot reform base listed in the country's development plan for 2006 and 2010.

 

Upon completion, it will cover an area 2,270 sq km. About 120 kilometers to the southeast of Beijing, it generated 160 billion yuan in gross domestic product in 2005.

 

China is trying to turn the area into its third economic engine following Shenzhen and Pudong of Shanghai, the economic powerhouses of the country's southern and eastern coastal areas.

 

According to Tianjin Customs, the Binhai New Area did a foreign trade totaling US$26.91 billion in the first 11 months, a rise of 22.3 percent year-on-year.

 

The trade volume included US$16.18 billion in imports, up 19.8 percent, and an export of US$10.73 billion, up 26.2 percent from last year's same period.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2006)