Heilongjiang was one of the three provinces in China that saw a healthy growth in exports during January-February, with total trade up by 7.3 percent to US$1.69 billion. Exports increased by 26 percent to US$1.3 billion while imports declined by 28 percent to US$390 million.
In January, Heilongjiang's trade with Russia was US$670 million, down by 12.4 percent. This accounts for nearly 26.2 percent of the total Sino-Russian trade.
Though the Chinese government has assured that it would take necessary steps to arrest the slowdown in exports, trade with Russia now faces more hurdles as the country has imposed a higher tax rate on raw material exports. Exporters also have to contend with sluggish domestic demand in Russia and the frequent devaluations of the Ruble.
Sun Yao, vice-governor of Heilongjiang, indicated in a recent meeting that the province would expand its economic ties with Russia and also accelerate cooperation with Japan, South Korea and other emerging markets.
"The Heilongjiang Commerce Department will diversify the economic and technology cooperation with South Korea and Russia, and bolster the traditional markets like Europe, the United States, Russia, Japan and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the province will open up new markets in the Middle East, Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, Oceania and other emerging markets, to effectively counter trade risks," said Sun.
Heilongjiang was Russia's largest provincial trading partner in 2008 with trade touching US$11.06 billion.
In January, Heilongjiang's exports to Australia nearly doubled, while that to Latin America went up by 53.8 percent.
The global financial crisis has not spared the enterprises in Heilongjiang. Many of them have been forced to alter their time-tested strategies and look for new markets as they grapple with dwindling overseas demand.
Weishilihe, a Heilongjiang-based timber door and window maker, has been exporting its products to over 60 nations and regions in the past 10 years, especially in the Europe and the US.
"The financial crisis had a significant impact on us as many long-standing customers cancelled contracts. We lost significant orders and money," said Yi Guobin, president, Weishilihe.
Yi said, Weishilihe decided to transfer its product design and alter the export strategy after a careful study of the global construction market.
"Till now we were manufacturing products for luxurious villas and high-end entertainment clubs in Europe and the US. These products required complicated and elaborate hand-carved doors, with each unit costing as much as US$500 to US$1,000. The slowdown in demand came as a blow to us," said Yi.
The company, however, decided to shift its focus from Europe and the US to the emerging markets like the Middle East and South Korea, and re-designed its products for use in high-rise buildings, like hotels, apartments and offices.
"The products are in huge demand in South Korea and the Middle East. Normally, one building needs over 10,000 sets of doors and windows. We are confident that exports to these regions can touch US$8 million to US$10 million annually," said Yi.
Heilongjiang is also fostering Chinese brands as part of its export strategy. Till 2005, Heilongjiang did not have any well-known provincial brand in exports. However, by 2008, there were nearly 21 province-level enterprises with exports of nearly US$910 million.
Harbin HF Automobile Industry Group Company is one of the backbone enterprises in Heilongjiang. The group was established in 2006 through a combination of many enterprises. It now employs nearly 11,000 people.
The group has an annual production capacity of 400,000 automobiles and 550,000 automobile engines. It has produced and sold totally more than 2.15 million of various types of automobiles, of which 13,000 units have been exported.
"Our sales revenue declined in 2008 because of the financial crisis," said Zhang Haixing, vice-general manager of the company. "To surmount the crisis we developed new markets in places like Iran and Turkey.
(China Daily April 2, 2009)
