Beijing to establish private bank, among others
CHINA has called for a private bank to be established in the country’s struggling northeast as part of a new plan published on Wednesday to support economic growth in the region.
China’s efforts to “rejuvenate” the northeast began in 2003 as the central government tried to bring stability to an old industrial region hit by layoffs, strikes and organised crime.
It has since spent billions of yuan to regenerate shantytowns, build new transportation infrastructure and encourage new high-tech industries in the three northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin.
The State Council said local governments would be responsible for drawing up new policies to develop the private economy in the region, which has long been dominated by powerful state-owned firms.
Reforms in the northeast were more difficult as state firms provided China’s efforts to tried to
began in 2003 as the government to the old industrial region. Bloomberg pic
more public services, including operating kindergartens and primary schools, than firms in other regions, said Zhou Jianping, head of the NDRC’s office in charge of rejuvenating the northeast.
At least one new regional bank would be established by the end of June next year, and a “financing guarantee system” would also be set up to support small and medium enterprises, said the new plan.
China will also look into developing new industries in resourcedepleted cities in the northeast to create jobs, and will accelerate construction of infrastructure projects.
The central government would provide special financial support for northeastern cities suffering from recession and resource depletion, said the plan, naming Jixi and other struggling coal cities in Heilongjiang, where protests against unpaid wages have been common. Reuters