Northeast China's Liaoning Province, a traditional heavy industry base, is managing to boost economic growth despite the intensifying impact of the rampant Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.

In the first four months of this year, Liaoning's provincial GDP growth rate increased 12.4 percent on the same period of last year - the fastest in the past ten years, despite the onset of SARS in April.

Secondary industry realized an added value of 77 billion yuan (US$9.27 billion), up 13.9 percent on the same period last year.

Xu Weiguo, Vice-Governor of Liaoning Province, attributed such rapid growth to the importance attached to both preventing and curing SARS and developing the local economy.

Local planning head Zhong Jiquan said Liaoning had stabilized its economy and accelerated economic growth by tapping the less affected core industries of metallurgy, petrochemistry and equipment manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Liaoning had reformed traditional industries with new and high technologies and opened industrial sectors to the outside world, said Zhang Yaojun, director of Liaoning's Provincial Economic and Trade Commission.

So far, the province has successfully instituted 80 major industrial technological reform projects and invested 6.19 billion yuan, up 22.9 percent on last year.

In March, Huacheng Golden Cup Company signed an agreement with BMW from Germany to establish a joint venture, BMW's first in Asia.

The venture has a total investment of 450 million euros, with a projected annual production capacity of 30,000 BMW sedans.

Shenyang Liming Co. Ltd. has reached an agreement with GE of the United States for a joint venture program, with an investment of US$50 million to produce gas turbine parts.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2003)