China's 'rust belt' shows sign of modest recovery
- By Guo Yiming
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 14, 2017
China's "rust belt" has moved past its toughest times as structural reform is taking hold and the economy is picking up in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.
Once known as China's industrial heartland, the province has experienced a faster economic downturn than the rest of China, mostly due to energy and heavy industries.
According to recent figures, however, the painful transition is finally paying off and the economy is showing signs of recovery, just as their famously tough inhabitants survive the region's brutally cold winters.
In the first three quarters of last year, Heilongjiang's GDP climbed up to 6 percent, with the primary and tertiary industries increasing by 4.8 percent and 8.5 percent, 1.3 percentage points and 0.9 percentage point higher than the national average, respectively.
Industrial structure is gradually optimizing as the energy sector now accounts for less than 10 percent of the GDP, compared to over 20.1 percent in 2012, revealed Li Haitao, Heilongjiang's vice governor, as he stressed that the province is gradually shaking off its over-reliance on heavy industries through structural reform.
"The total GDP is estimated to have increased by 140 billion yuan (US$20.33 billion) from 2012 to 2016, during which time production values dropped 160 billion yuan (US$23.23 billion) in the energy sector," said Li.
![Tourists visit the Sun Island Park in Harbin, China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Jan. 10. [Photo by Jiao Yang/Provided to China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20170113/f44d307d90cc19e2cf2609.jpg "Tourists visit the Sun Island Park in Harbin, China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Jan. 10. [Photo by Jiao Yang/Provided to China.org.cn]") |
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Tourists visit the Sun Island Park in Harbin, China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Jan. 10. [Photo by Jiao Yang/Provided to China.org.cn] |
Winter economy heats up the frozen land
Tourism, among other sectors, has become a silver lining that has shored up the province's slowing economy and counteracted negative growth in heavy industries.
Harbin's International Ice and Snow Festival is drawing global tourists with its shimmering castles, huge towers and thrilling slides, all made of ice and snow.
From Q1 to Q3, the province received 103 million domestic and overseas tourists, up by 15.61 percent year-on-year. The tourism revenue in the period registered 120.3 billion yuan (US$17.46 billion), up by 17.54 percent.
The winter economy, in particular, has contributed much to heating up the "frozen" land. Driven by tourism demands, the Harbin airport received 16.27 million passengers in 2016, up by 15.8 percent year-on-year, making it among the top of all air fields in China's northeastern region.
From Nov. 16 to Dec. 27, 2016, the number of tourists visiting the Snow Town, the Ice and Snow World, the Sun Island Park and Yabuli International Ski Resort recorded year-on-year growth of 77.3 percent, 21.72 percent, 38.24 percent and 154.8 percent ,respectively, prompting 42.3 percent more banking transactions from non-local visitors.
Harnessing its cold climate with a yearly average temperature of 3 degrees Celsius, the provincial capital of Harbin is working to become a base for cloud computing, as low temperatures help save on the cost of operating heat sinks and other units required to keep massive banks of computers from overheating.
The "China Cloud Valley," launched in late 2010 and targeting modern information technologies like cloud computing and IoT, has attracted over 300 companies to the industrial park, including Fortune 500 companies like Intel, China Mobile and HSBC.
New drivers of growth
In recent years, the State Council, China's cabinet, has published a series of guidelines and opinions for revitalizing the northeast region and transforming traditional industrial bases.
Daqing, China's oil capital in Heilongjiang Province, is seeking new drivers of growth while keeping its advantage in the traditional petrochemical industry. Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has shown faith in the future of the city against major economic downturn in the region by vowing to turn its new Daqing plant into "one of the most advanced car making facilities in China."
![S90 sedans showcased at the plant of Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing Co., Ltd. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/png/site1007/20170113/f44d307d90cc19e2cf690c.png "S90 sedans showcased at the plant of Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing Co., Ltd. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]") |
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S90 sedans showcased at the plant of Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing Co., Ltd. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] |
"I do think that, this province gives many possibilities what Volvo wants to do to have a manufacturing footprint to China," Marc Gombeer, vice president of Daqing Volvo Car Manufacturing Co., Ltd, told China.org.cn while explaining the choice of city for its operation.
He said it was quite smart for Volvo to choose Daqing as a production base for its S90 flagship model instead of in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
With an annual output expecting to reach 80,000 in 2017, Gombeer is optimistic for the future of its operations in the city and is seeking for more transport options to export China-made premium cars to countries worldwide.
Gong Zhenjiang, head of the publicity department in Daqing, said the city is considering developing advanced manufacturing, new materials and biomedicine among other areas in a bid to breakaway from its over-reliance on the petrochemical industry.
The northeastern province also vows to accelerate infrastructure construction, the building of Heilongjiang Land and Maritime Silk Road Economic Belt and cross-border trade and cooperation, to further restore and stabilize growth, according to government plans.
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