Developing Export-Oriented Economy in the Northeast Economic Region of China

Abstract

In the Seventh Five-Year Plan, the whole territory in China is divided into the three economic zones, i. e., eastern, central and western. To the eastern zone is assigned the role of accelerating development and to the central zone, that of enhancing energy and raw material supply. The Northeast Economic Region, consisting of three provinces, extends over two of these three zones. The southern province, Liaoning, belongs to the eastern, while the two northern provinces are,attached to the central zone.A comprehensive industrial system has been formed in the Northeast Economic Region, especially in Liaoning, with heavy industries and a sufficient capacity for manufacturing a wide range of equipment. Though the labor productivity remains still low in the state-owned enterprises, some transformation of old enterprises is taking place and accelerated as a result of the foreign investment and technology transfer. The importance of the horizontal relations being recognized, the Northeast Economic Region has established multi-level economic cooperation networks with many other regions. Dalian functions as the main port open to the outside and as the largest center for distributing materials and goods in the region.Trade and small-scale transactions with Russia and North Korea are increasing in the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang of the central zone in the Seventh Plan. The border area has begun to shift from an economy dominated mainly by agriculture to a more diversified one containing also industry and trade. But, to develop the whole Northeast Economic Region on the base of an export-oriented economy, it is important to develop the Sanjiang plain and Tumenjiang basin.