Innovative technologies reviving old northern industrial heartland

ON the frigid snow-swept plains of China’s northeast stands a sprawling, state-of-the-art factory that turns straw and grass into durable and degradable plastic bags.

Workers are braving biting winds to bring new equipment into the factory in Yingkou, a port city in Liaoning Province.

“Sales have grown by 20 percent each year in recent years,” said Wen Qidong, chairman of the Tungsheng Group and owner of the plant, which was built at cost of 200 million yuan (US$29.87 million). “We export 95 percent of the products to Japan.”

Innovative technology, which is at the heart of the success of the company, has injected fresh energy into the region, commonly known as China’s old industrial base that consists of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. These industry leaders are changing the dynamics of regional economic growth.

The latest statistics show that the gross domestic product of the three provinces grew by 5.7 percent, 4.5 percent and 5 percent last year.

The northeast of China had been struggling since 2014.

Liaoning, the most populous of the three and with its economy making up for nearly half of the regional strength, posted negative growth in 2016. It was not until 2017 when Liaoning’s GDP growth started picking up. In 2018, the other two provinces were also back on the growth track, with Heilongjiang keeping steady growth and Jilin ending its half-year economic slowdown in the third quarter of last year.

At the annual session of the Liaoning Provincial People’s Congress held in January, the provincial legislators agreed that they had tided over the most troubling times.

Region keeps on trucking

Hu Hanjie, chairman of the FAW Jiefang Automotive, a truck subsidiary of FAW Group headquartered in Changchun, the provincial capital of Jilin, is proud of his new department, the Division F.

The new division was established last year to keep the company up with the new tech trends, juicing up cumbersome, heavy trucks with cutting-edge technologies.

In Jilin, the satellite information industry is expanding quickly. Twelve independently developed Jilin-1 satellites have been launched to promote remote sensing data and services for forestry, shipping and resource and environmental monitoring.

In 2018, the value added of the high-tech manufacturing in Liaoning and Heilongjiang rose by 19.8 percent and 11.2 percent. In Jilin, the number of high-tech enterprises soared 69.8 percent last year.

The strength of innovation cannot be separated from the supply-side structural reform which has made headway in recent years, said Li Kai, vice director of the Dongbei Vitalization Research Institute.

As the economy gains momentum, northeast China has entered a new phase of “restorative growth,” he said.

Provincial governments are becoming proactive, eliminating barriers for doing business and creating a favorable environment for businesspeople.

(Xinhua)