Tianjin, a super old industrial city and also a resource-shortage city, is striving to promote low-carbon economy, green economy and circular economy in recent years, as a measure to implement the Scientific Outlook of Development and to transfer development mode. Through ways such as planned guidance, preferential policies, pilots, capital support, science and technology innovation and international cooperation, it effectively advanced the economic restructuring and industrial structure.

Tianjin has set a special fund of 20 million CNY per year for circular economy since 2007. It has supported 53 key projects with good economic, social and environmental performances, as well as with piloting and demonstration functions.

These projects have attracted relevant investment totaling 3.18 billion CNY. The government plays a leading role for the non-governmental investment and stimulates the enterprises to develop circular economy.

Tianjin was selected as a national pilot city of circular economy by six ministries and commissions such as the National Development and Reform Commission; meanwhile, Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), Harbor Industrial Park, Ziya Circular Economy Area and Beijing Power Plant were approved as national circular pilots.

By combining its industrial advantages, Tianjin decided to further explore and optimize five circular economy development modes.

TEDA mode

Based on the regional circulation system and surrounding modern manufacturing industry, it develops an open industrial symbiosis network with multi-type enterprises, close product chains and close resources flow. It applies an innovative water circulation mode, which takes integrated design for the small circulation in an enterprise, homogenous water circulation and the large water circulation in the area, and develops a circulation system of water supply, water saving and recycled water utilization.

Ziya mode

The waste materials are dismantled and deeply preceded in the mode, in order for the recycling of renewable resources. It is a development mode combining the venous industry and arterial industry together, with focuses on processing and remanufacturing projects of white household appliances, end-of-life vehicles and waste mobile phones.

Lin’gang mode

This mode highlights the integration of petrochemical, salt chemical and fine chemical. Taking the advantages of Tianjin port and tidal flats, it has developed petrochemical harbor area, warehouse logistics area and petrochemical industrial park to optimize resources allocation and products’ organic linking among the enterprises in maritime petrochemical industry’s up, middle and down streams.

Beijiang mode

It is a mode to make the projects of power generation, sea water desalination, salt production sourced from sea water, chemicals abstraction, brick production with raw materials from power plant’s coal ash and land saving linking effectively, in order to achieve cascade circular utilization of the energy and materials.

Huaming mode

The mode builds demonstration towns through a method to barter houses with homesteads. It develops a mode featuring intensive land utilization, residents’ ecological centralism housing and circular industrial development. It provides experiences for other small towns’ development such as its ecological environmental protection system featuring scientific greening, water and soil conservation, water source reserve and multi-source water supply, and the circular industrial system focusing on industry and integrating industry with agriculture.

(Article from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/tianjin2012/2016-10/13/content_27049436.htm)