Private and foreign ventures are being encouraged to play a
major role in the revitalization of Northeast China, the country's
old industrial base, a high-ranking official said yesterday.
"The Northeast must rely on reform and further opening up to
ensure its rejuvenation," Zhang Guobao, vice-minister of the
National Development and Reform Commission said.
A blueprint for the Northeast revitalization program, which was
initiated in 2003, was formally released at a press conference held
by the State Council Information Office yesterday.
The proportion of State-owned businesses in the region is "way
too high", Zhang, who is also chief of the office for the
revitalization of Northeast China under the State Council,
said.
For example, according to the blueprint, in 2005, the added
value produced by the non-public sector in the Northeast was just
36 percent of the total, much lower than in other regions, Zhang
said.
Under the revitalization plan, the rate is predicted to rise to
48 percent by 2010.
"People have joked that the Northeast was the first region to be
brought under a planned economy, but the last to exit," Zhang told
the press conference.
The policy document, approved by the central government earlier
this month, promises to rebuild the Northeast as a "key economy
with high level, comprehensive development".
It encourages foreign and private investors to participate in
the transformation of State-owned enterprises, many of which are
struggling to survive in a market economy.
In particular, private capital will be granted the same tax
exemptions, land use and loan policies as the State firms being
restructured, the blueprint says, without specifying favorable
treatment for foreign investors.
Hi-tech industries, equipment manufacturing, modern agriculture,
infrastructure and environmental protection are listed as the
priority areas for foreign investment.
But foreign firms will not be allowed to invest in sectors that
guzzle energy and spew out pollution, the document said.
It says overseas financial institutions are also welcome to set
up branches in Northeast China.
As the region shares a long border with Russia, cooperation with
Moscow figures large for the revitalization of the region, Zhang
said, adding that a Sino-Russia crude oil pipeline project is
nearing the implementation stage.
The northeastern region defined in the document includes
Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, and the eastern part of
the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The country's old industrial base stretches 1.45 million sq km
and is inhabited by 120 million people, almost 10 percent of the
total population.
Under the blueprint, the region will be developed into a major
powerhouse for economic growth, an internationally competitive
manufacturing hub, a national source of raw materials and energy,
and an important base for grain and farm produce.
(China Daily August 21, 2007)
