Tianjin, the city with the highest per capita income in China, is poised to pass Hong Kong in economic output as soon as next year, following Shanghai and Beijing.

 

Shanghai overtook Hong Kong in 2009. Beijing did likewise in 2011. Tianjin's move is based on last year's growth rate of 11.5 percent and average estimates for Hong Kong's gross domestic product and the CNY in surveys. Ten years ago, Tianjin's economy was about a quarter the former British colony's size. 

 

"It's got ports, it's got oil, it's got a bit of everything, while Hong Kong is basically a trading post with finance and the services," said James McGregor, greater China chairman for advisory firm APCO Worldwide. "It's just another look at the scale of China and the incredible urbanisation and the growth of the cities." 

 

Tianjin, with about 14 million people, or twice Hong Kong's population, is a shipping hub for commodities and a growing manufacturing site. 

 

Airbus Group put its first final-assembly line outside Europe in the city. Toyota Motor is adding 50,000 units to its local capacity this year. 

 

The city's government has for several years been leading development of districts modelled on Manhattan, complete with lookalikes of Rockefeller and Lincoln centres. 

 

Per capita income in Tianjin was 93,173 CNY (117,049 HKD) in 2012, about 7 percent more than Beijing, the No2, according to recent National Bureau of Statistics data. By comparison, average income in Hong Kong was 284,770 HKD that year. 

 

Tianjin's proximity to Beijing - the two are connected by a high-speed train ride of less than 40 minutes - has China's top economic planners looking at ways to mitigate overcrowding and traffic. Some urban planners have also called for integrating nearby Hebei province into the "Jing-Jin-Ji" mix. 

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