Revival efforts
In 2013, the Chinese Government released a plan to revitalize the old industrial bases in the three northeastern provinces, pledging to provide more investment in the next five years. It is the second document of this kind, following the first one having been rolled out in 2003.
When President Xi visited Jilin in mid-July, he prescribed a remedy for the northeastern economy--sparing no efforts in developing the region's equipment manufacturing industry, stepping up efforts to foster emerging industries, boosting the service industry, optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, intensifying infrastructural construction and unleashing the vigor of the private economy.
"Now is the critical moment for the revitalization of northeast China," Xi said.
On July 31, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, announced that it had allocated 50 million yuan ($8 million) to fund pre-project researches for major projects in the three northeastern provinces. The NDRC said that it would intensify support for the revitalization of northeast China by releasing more favorable policies, encouraging local innovation and entrepreneurship, improving people's livelihood and accelerating economic restructuring.
Liang Qidong, Vice President of the Liaoning Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that efforts to revitalize northeast China should focus on establishing an innovation-driven growth pattern, tapping domestic demand for intrinsic growth, improving people's living conditions, bolstering reforms and further opening up to the outside.
"To get out of its difficult situation, the region should make the best use of its existing advantages, particularly its edge in equipment manufacturing. In the meantime, substantive progress should be made in reforming the region's SOEs," said Liu Shijin, former Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, China's cabinet. "Although China has kissed goodbye to breakneck expansion, the country still has large demand for heavy industry products."
On May 6, an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li made deployments in international cooperation in capacity and equipment manufacturing. Great efforts will be made to help export China-manufactured equipment, said a statement released after the meeting.
Describing high-speed trains produced in northeast China as "a much sought-after commodity" in the country's economic and technological cooperation overseas in his July visit, Xi urged local equipment manufacturers to seize opportunities to invest more in research and development and build the country into a modern equipment-manufacturing power on the world stage.
