North China's coastal city Tianjin will highlight the connection of projects between State-owned and private businesses, which have been the result of a boost in the city's mixed ownership economy, the city's vice-mayor recently said.

Cui Jindu, Tianjin's executive vice-mayor, said the city is making progress in maintaining steady growth while optimizing its economic structure and promoting industrial transformation through the cooperation between State-owned and private businesses.

After several years of steady growth, Tianjin has entered a critical stage of economic restructuring.

Under the joint effort, Tianjin's State-owned Assets Supervision and Admini stration Commission signed a strategic cooperation agree ment with the Tianjin Federation of Industry and Commerce during the 8th China International Private Equity Forum and Technology International Private Equity Forum, to jointly increase the development of the city's mixed ownership economy.

According to Li Guangwen, chairman of the Tianjin Federation of Industry and Commerce, in recent years private businesses have played a more significant role in the city's economic development.

By the end of March a total 470,000 private businesses in Tianjin had a registered capital of 1.3 trillion yuan. The city's private economy achieved 140.8 billion yuan in added value, more than 44 percent in the city's total economic output.

Under the leadership of local government, an increasing number of Stated-owned enterprises have joined hands with private companies to boost the city's innovation-driven economic development, such as Gobelieve, a Tianjin-based company with a history spanning 150 years.

"We will join hands to optimize and upgrade the industrial structure in order to lay a solid foundation for sound economic growth in the future," Li said during the forum.