http://www.bjreview.com APRIL 20, 2017 BEIJING REVIEW 37
Copyedited by Chris Surtees
Comments to [email protected]the market economy of the local govern-
ments and people is at the heart of efforts
to revive this region,î said Xiang Tao, a
professor at the Northeastern University in
Shenyang.
Furthermore, while the region has a
strong need for skilled laborers, the popula-
tion of the three northeastern provinces
has been shrinking in recent years due to
net outward migration and comparatively
low fertility rates. High-caliber workers have
drained from the three provinces due to
the slowing regional economy, and this has
in turn undercut local growth. According
to NDRC data, from 2010 to 2015, approxi-
mately 240,000 people moved away from
the three provinces to other regions in pur-
suit of better job opportunities and a more
comfortable climate.
ìTherefore, improving local peopleís
ideas about the market economy and trying
to introduce more excellent professionals is
crucial,î said Zhao Chenxin, NDRC spokes-
man, at a press conference held in Beijing
last December. ìThe quickening outflow of
university graduates, top-notch technicians
and management personnel should draw at-
tention from central and local governments.
More measures should be released to help
keep these talented people in the region.î
According to Fu, SOEs account for
a large proportion of the northeastern
economy. Most locally administered SOEs
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such as in dealing with social security fund-
ing shortages and resettlement of laid-off
workers. In addition, as the regionís popula-
tion is quickly aging, the provincial pension
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If the Central Government could give more
support in these areas, it would help the de-
velopment of the northeast in a big way.
Fu pointed out that local governments
always rigidly carry out state policies. As part
of future reforms to streamline administra-
tion and delegate power to lower levels,
more autonomy should be given to the
three northeastern provinces so that they
have more flexibility to act in accordance
with local conditions.
ìThe Central Government should be
patient with this new revitalization attempt
to allow a time window for the northeastern
economy to gradually adjust itself, make
changes and let market forces kick in,î Fu
said. QBUSINESS
10
8
6
4
2
0
Northeast
GDP Growth
(% y.o.y.)National
average6.3%
Growth in the Northeastern Region
Growth of Industrial Value Added
\R\ó-DQ)HE Growth of Fixed Assets Investment
\R\ó-DQ)HE 0.8%
6.6%
7.4%
7.1%
8.9%
9.0%
12.0%
7.9%
Liaoning
Heilongjiang
Jilin
7.79.0
8.0
8.3
6.7
6.9 6.9
7.46.1
5.6
3.0
5.8
6.5
5.7
6.5
2013 2014 2015 2016 ó ó ó ó ó ó ó
National
Northeast
East
Central
West
National
East
Central
West
0 5 10 15%
(Source: National Bureau of Statistics; designed by Pamela Tobey)
economic transition and reform of state-
owned enterprises (SOEs), and its lackluster
economic performance has since continued.
The latest data from the National Bureau
of Statistics show the three provinces differ
in terms of economic growth. In 2016, the
GDP of Heilongjiang and Jilin respectively
increased by 6.1 percent and 6.9 percent,
similar to the national average of 6.7 per-
cent, whereas that of Liaoning shrank by 2.5
percent.
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dustrial value added of the northeast
increased by a meager 0.8 percent, much
lower than the national average of 6.3 per-
cent, while fixed assets investment in the
region declined by 17.8 percent year on
year, compared to the national average of
8.9-percent growth.
A lack of dynamic private businesses is also
a major concern for the northeast. A recent
ranking of the top 500 private businesses in
China released by the All-China Federation of
Industry and Commerce contained only 10 en-
terprises from the northeast, whereas Zhejiang,
Jiangsu and Guangdong each have nearly 100
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To ease the downward pressure, the
government has endeavored since 2004 to
revitalize the regional economy and encour-
age reforms. In the past decade, at least 11
central government documents have speci-
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ìPrevious rounds of revival policies have
yielded considerable results. Without those
policies, the three northeastern provinces
would have been left far behind in economic
performance,î Fu said.
The regionís economy, however, is far
from satisfactory. What are the reasons?
One possible explanation is the short-
age of outstanding entrepreneurs and other
people clued up about how the market
economy works. After several decades
during which the economy was centrally
planned, the older generations in the north-
east tend to be overcautious in private
businesses and reform. Such behind-the-
times thinking obstructs the development of
private businesses, one of the major driving
forces of Chinaís economy.
ìTo reverse the outdated notions about