Accelerating Tianjin’s Informatization and Constructing the Economic Center in North China

Informatization Forum and join in the discussion on cooperation and development programs. I deem it a great honor for me to have the chance to represent Tianjin Municipal People 's Government and over 9,000,000 Tianjin people to express our hearty congratulations, as well as sincere regards to the officials from the United Nations Social Sciences, together with the domestic and foreign guests attending the forum. This forum has gained a strategic subject — " Urban Informatization " , which is the very mainstream of the world 's current economic and social development. Premier Jiang Zemin once profoundly pointed out, " Each one of the four modernizations can not do without informatization. " As the largest open coastal city in the north of China , Tianjin has made its people fully aware of the importance of informatization in urban development through its recent years of practice. In the 1990s, Tianjin , just like other provinces and cities in China , has showed a positive tendency of sustained, speedy and healthy development in its national economy. Between 1992 and 1999, its GDP has won an annual increasing rate of 12.3 percent and its financial revenue, an annual rate of 17.2 percent. Its GDP per person has also increased from $900 to $2,000. Its comprehensive economic power has been significantly strengthened. This positive tendency is closely related to informatization. On one hand, economic development lays a solid foundation for urban informatization. On the other hand, informatization plays an important role in promoting Tianjin 's economic development.