Tianjin Institute of Foreign Trade began preparations in September 1979 and was officially approved by the State Council in January 1983.

At its inception, the institute used the facilities of the Tianjin Foreign Trade Secondary Vocational School on Wangchuan Road.

[1] In April 1994, then Vice Premier Li Lanqing, who had previously served as Vice Mayor of Tianjin and Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, proposed merging Tianjin Institute of Foreign Trade into Nankai University.

On October 14, 1994, the State Education Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation signed the "Protocol on the Merger of Tianjin Institute of Foreign Trade into Nankai University," officially deciding to merge the institute into Nankai University.

[1] The main building of the campus, located at the entrance, was a seven-story frame structure facing south, used for teaching purposes.