The China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone was approved by the State Council in December 2014. On April 8, 2015, the State Council issued the Overall Plan for the China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and on April 21, the Tianjin FTZ officially commenced operations as the second batch of free trade zones and the first one in northern China.

According to the State Council's approval, the China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone covers a planned area of 119.9 square kilometers, including a customs special supervision area of 16.96 square kilometers, accounting for about 1 percent of Tianjin's total area.

The Tianjin Airport Area covers an area of 43.1 square kilometers, which is an important gathering area for advanced manufacturing and research and development transformation in Tianjin. Advantages have been formed in advanced manufacturing industries such as civil aviation, equipment manufacturing, electronic information, and biopharmaceuticals. It is an important air cargo center in northern China. In the future, relying on the strong industrial foundation and airport advantages, this area will focus on developing high-end manufacturing industries such as aviation and aerospace, equipment manufacturing, and new-generation information technology, as well as productive service industries such as research and development design and aviation logistics, and build the Asian aircraft manufacturing and maintenance center and the northern China air cargo logistics center.

The Tianjin Port Dongjiang Area covers an area of 30 square kilometers, which is the core functional area of the northern China international shipping center and international logistics center. In the future, relying on its port advantages, this area will focus on developing modern service industries such as shipping logistics, international trade, and financial leasing, and build the national import trade promotion innovation demonstration zone and the national leasing innovation demonstration zone.

The Binhai New Area Central Business District Area covers an area of 46.8 square kilometers, which is the financial reform and innovation aggregation area and urban core area of the Binhai New Area in Tianjin. In the future, relying on its perfect urban functions and superior business environment, this area will focus on developing modern service industries such as financial innovation, headquarters economy, cross-border e-commerce, technology information services, cultural media creativity, and strive to build the northern China financial innovation center.