Tianjin has still managed annual average GDP growth of 12.3 percent in spite of the economic downturn, through innovation in financing and business modes, and last year saw its GDP grow 9.4 percent thanks to its "finance plus science and technology" and "fiscal subsidy plus market operation" approaches.

The city says it encourages enterprise equipment and technological improvements through financing and leasing and, in two years, its finance bureau expects to put 3-billion yuan ($455.7 million) into 1,000 small-to-mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in science and technology, R & D, and inspection equipment to build more intelligent plants, workshops and inspection sites.

One example of this is the Tianjin Baolai Precision (Group) Co which, thanks to financing and leasing, has grown from a small enterprise dealing with sewing machine parts to a hi-tech manufacturer of large aircraft parts, engineering machinery, refrigeration compressors, automobiles, working with 25 Fortune Global 500 companies. It has obtained 60 percent of its fixed assets, worth more than 100 million yuan, through leasing at a low cost, which accounts for its rapid growth and has made it one of the earliest plants of its kind. It says it expects to spend more than 60 million yuan on technology transformations.

Another example is Flying Pigeon, a renowned local bicycle brand, which, to meet the challenge of changing consumer needs, has gotten into intelligent concepts and produced a "super intelligent bicycle" also in response to the city's encouraging enterprises to develop products with technological, market advantages.

In science and technology, Tianjin is combining technology imports and independent developments with the focus on core technologies, for example, efficient hollow fiber membrane modules, new drug stents, smart phone’s baseband chips using nanometer technology, and GBase 8t common database.

The city’s SMEs spend 5.4 percent of their income on science and technology R & D, which accounts for 44 percent of its patents, and it is cooperating with more than 1,000 science and technology institutions and over 70,000 SMEs on an innovation and industrial chain and has of the necessary policies and training. A total of 330,000 people have gotten national qualification and certification through the training programs.