Explosive-proof robotic dogs capable of running and jumping, specialized metal fibers that weave "flame-retardant clothing" for space satellites, high-precision industrial visual inspection systems... A visit to multiple U Valley industrial parks, invested in and operated by Beijing Liandong Investment (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Liandong Group) in Tianjin, reveals a host of technologies and products representing future industrial directions being incubated, iterated, and matured here.
Having taken root in Tianjin for fifteen years, Liandong Group has now established 13 industrial parks across 7 districts, including Binhai New Area, Jinnan District, and Wuqing District, with a total scale nearing 2 million square meters. These parks have gathered over 1,500 enterprises, nearly half of which are high-tech firms or enterprises of a significant scale. A large number of industry benchmark companies, such as Galileo, Tianbao Xiang, Kangzhuo Naisi, and Hanqing Environmental Protection, have successively set up operations here.
The source of the park's innovative vitality can be traced to a single concept: "integration."
Mao Hanfa, General Manager of Liandong Group's Tianjin branch, states that this "integration" focuses on the core strength of industrial development. "We must both support individual enterprises and guide the entire industry forward," he expressed, noting that it is precisely this approach to integration that has enabled the park to cultivate a group of highly specialized and innovative enterprises with strong growth potential. Patent application volumes are continuously rising, making the park a living example of new quality productive forces taking root and flourishing in the Tianjin region.
How is this integration achieved? Mao Hanfa elaborated point by point.
The first aspect of integration focuses on key technologies within the enterprise innovation chain. "The companies here compete not on scale, but on R&D. Technology is the core competitiveness that cannot be dismantled or relocated by others," Mao Hanfa summarized, capturing the development logic of the U Valley industrial parks.
Tianjin Tianyin Tengxiang Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the enterprises within the U Valley industrial park. Inside its production workshop, rows of self-developed high-precision weaving machines operate at high speed, with fine metal wires shuttling and interweaving between precision guides to form uniform shielding and filtration meshes. "This is our independently developed product, a key material used in power, petroleum, and chemical industries to prevent electromagnetic interference and ensure signal stability," said Zhang Dongxu, the company's chairman, holding up a lightweight piece of mesh. He revealed that the company produces 300,000 to 500,000 meters of precision mesh material and approximately 300 weaving machines annually. Its specialized filtration nets are used not only in traditional industrial sectors but also extend to emerging tech industries like hydrogen energy electrolyzers.
It is reported that among the many enterprises settled in the U Valley industrial park, some provide the "eyes" of machine vision, others manufacture the "arms" of precision machinery, and yet others research and produce the "skin" of specialized materials. "Initially, the park attracted mostly processing and manufacturing enterprises. Later, as the industry upgraded, more tech-based companies arrived, and even traditional firms began investing in R&D," Mao Hanfa stated.
Nowadays, the park's investment attraction team specifically targets technology companies that embody new quality productive forces. To support the development of enterprises within the park, Liandong Group innovatively implements a "substitute investment for attraction" strategy, establishing partnerships with nearly 50 domestic investment institutions to identify and invest in high-potential tech firms. Following precise investment through funds, the Group actively guides the invested companies to locate within the park, forming an ecological closed loop of "capital injection + industrial landing."
Mao Hanfa said, "We aim to piece together the technological and product advantages scattered across various enterprises like completing a jigsaw puzzle, forming a cohesive whole." This leads to the second aspect of integration: the "ecological integration platter" of factor aggregation.
Qinghe Chip Semiconductor Technology (Group) Co., Ltd. is an enterprise with core technology in semiconductor bonding equipment. Currently, through its new material foundry production line established in the Binhai Science Port of U Valley in Binhai New Area, the company has developed a unique model for industrial chain collaboration.
"Our foundry business is an extension of our core bonding technology capabilities. Some companies might not be able to afford multi-million-dollar equipment immediately or need to verify process feasibility before investing. Our foundry line has an annual production capacity of 600,000 semiconductor wafers and can provide customers with solutions and OEM services," a relevant company representative explained. They have collaborated with universities like Tsinghua University and The University of Hong Kong, achieving key technological breakthroughs in third-generation semiconductor material preparation processes. Simultaneously, they have formed industrial synergy with nearly ten upstream and downstream enterprises within the park, jointly building an innovation ecosystem spanning key equipment, material foundry, and process solutions around new material fields like third-generation semiconductors.
The final aspect of integration focuses on service.
"Investment attraction is merely the 'entry ticket'; service is the 'tea that keeps guests.' We aim to be 'running mates' for the industry, helping enterprises secure funding, apply for patents, and also organizing industry salons and demand-matching meetings to create opportunities for potential 'handshakes'," Mao Hanfa explained. He noted that Liandong Group launched a digital intelligent supply chain service platform for the parks in 2023—"Chain U Valley." This platform has already connected approximately 20,000 industrial enterprises nationwide, covering products and services across 38 major categories and 2,200 sub-categories. It helps enterprises reduce procurement costs by 5% to 10% and expand their sales channels.
Discussing future plans, Mao Hanfa indicated that new parks in Hongqiao District and Beichen District are under construction. The park in Hongqiao District is expected to open in February next year, with over 80 enterprises set to move in at that time.
"Inside the Outer Ring Road, we will fully leverage the advantages of central urban areas—comprehensive supporting facilities, talent concentration, and a developed service sector—using new-type urban industrial parks as carriers to introduce high-end, lightweight R&D and manufacturing enterprises into the city center. Outside the Outer Ring Road, we will construct different types of thematic parks based on each district's industrial layout and capacity, achieving industrial synergy where 'upstairs and downstairs form the upstream and downstream, and the industrial park itself constitutes the industrial chain'," Mao Hanfa stated.
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