City of Tianjin, China (Observer)

The city of Tianjin is participating in the Triangulum Project as ‘Observer City’ given the emerging importance of China both in terms of politics and market opportunities.

Tianjin is a metropolitan area in the north-east of China and borders Beijing about 120 km away. Its economic output is currently twice that of the national average, and substantive infrastructure projects are currently under development to support this growth. Its population in 2009 was 12.28 million. A critical issue for the area is to plan and develop this infrastructure in a smart way that engages and develops links with its citizens and users. Tianjin is one of the 15 Chinese Cities involved in the new EU China Smart Cities Forum supported by DG Connect and is also part of a new policy exchange programme on smart cities, funded by the UK government, which the city of Manchester is co-ordinating.

Tianjin’s participation as well as providing critical policy development work, presents significant opportunities for the industrial and private sector partners involved in Triangulum to access and exploit the Chinese smart city market. The University of Stavanger has already developed a cooperation agreement with the University of Tianjin. Tianjin will take part in the project in terms of learning and best practice.