The main development goals and tasks of Tianhe district for 2022 were released at the second session of the 10th Tianhe District People's Congress, which concluded on Jan 22.

The district aims to increase its GDP by 6 percent this year, while it will strive to increase its fixed-asset investment by 8 percent and have its investment in R&D account for 3.4 percent of its GDP.

It will strive to introduce three key projects, each with an investment of over 10 billion yuan ($1.57 billion), as well as 10 projects invested in by Fortune Global 500. It will aim to have 110 registered projects, with a total amount of contracted investment of more than 45 billion yuan.

This year, Tianhe will further improve its industrial structure, build itself into an innovative hub with global influence, and create an attractive business environment.

The district will focus on the development of leading industries like high-end professional services, finance, and new generation information technology.

It will build a central urban gathering area for cross-border financial and assets management institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as construct characteristic futures buildings around the Guangzhou Futures Exchange.

Tianhe district. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

Action plans will be launched to promote the digital and international development of high-end professional services in accounting, law, advertising, and marketing. They will also explore supporting international well-known enterprises to set up legal bodies and speeding up the construction of the Guangzhou Southern Talent Building.

Tianhe will also advance the construction of 32 key industrial and infrastructure projects in Guangzhou International Financial Town. Among them, seven are expected to be capped this year, and two will be put into production.

In addition, the district will strengthen resource sharing and industrial cooperation with the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone on Zhuhai's Hengqin Island and the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone to explore the establishment of a development alliance between Tianhe High-tech Zone and advanced parks in the Greater Bay Area.

It will also promote in-depth cooperation with industrial parks, universities, and research institutions in Hong Kong and Macao in R&D, entrepreneurship, as well as achievement transformation.

It will build a demonstration zone for service trade liberalization in the Greater Bay Area, as well as complete the construction of the arbitration center for international business and digital economy in the Greater Bay Area to attract more service institutions from Hong Kong and Macao to settle in Tianhe.

The district will also focus on building an ecosystem for intellectual property creation, application, and protection, while also exploring IP securitization. It is expected that the number of its granted patents will reach 29,000 in 2022, with an annual technology contract turnover of more than 50 billion yuan.

The district will build itself into a hub for innovative talents, establishing 10 new academician, postdoctoral, and doctoral workstations this year.