Growth model change needed

A resident evacuated from her home after last week's explosions at Binhai new district, shouts slogans as she takes part in a rally demanding government compensation outside the venue of the government officials' news conference in Tianjin, China, August 17, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Despite Tianjin's strong economic performance in recent years, including being among the first group of China's provincial-level regions to exceed the $10,000 per capita GDP threshold, meaning that it belongs to a high-income economy based on the 2013 World Bank standard, the deadly explosions at a warehouse storing chemicals have exposed a series of vulnerabilities behind Tianjin's rapid economic growth.

The emergency response to the disaster demonstrates that fast-growing Tianjin is still a developing city that urgently needs to raise its governance capability.

The information disclosed already indicates that the blasts were by no means just an industrial accident, the loopholes involving the storage and management of dangerous chemicals that have been revealed show it was only a matter of time before a disaster occurred.

The public has the right to know the cause of this disaster, including whether corruption was involved. However, the delays in information disclosure in the wake of the blasts have increased public concerns over whether this right will be respected.

The fast GDP growth in Tianjin in recent years has not benefited its residents at a proportional scale. Relevant statistics indicate the ratio of Tianjin's per capita disposable income to its GDP, an economic indicator more related to people's welfare than just GDP growth, was very low compared with other regions in this country. Such a situation means that Tianjin must change its practice of excessively pursuing economic growth, while ignoring whether such growth brings people real benefits.

The above is an abridgement of a ThePaper.cn editorial on Tuesday.