In recent years, provinces in NE China have been working hard to boost their local economies. Jilin is channeling energy into its private sector.
At the end of July 2016, the province held the first World Conference of Ji Merchants to attract investment and promote economic activity.
The Jilin Merchants Association was founded at that conference to bring together Ji merchants from around the world.
It is now a year later, and within that time Jilin signed a lot of investment programs with a total value of 184.43 billion yuan ($27.8 billion).
Cao Heping, rewarded as the "Outstanding Contributor" among Ji merchants at a second World Conference, said that all Ji merchants have confidence in revitalizing NE China.
Jilin is proud to promote the spirit of Ji merchants, recognizing their values of integrity and friendship, bravery, innovation and gratitude.
Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces are also sparing no efforts to boost commercial activity.
Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, is moving forward, having cut red tape and standardized administrative procedures for examination and approval, making it much easier for enterprises to do business.
The city has also built an administrative accountability system to standardize law enforcement related to commercial operations.
Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning, for its part is following the World Bank's evaluation criteria, and evaluates its business environment every half year.
The city now also provides one-off handling for more than 1800 service items.
As a result of these efforts, registration of new enterprises in Northeast China increased by 19.2 percent year on year in the first half of this year.
It is apparent that an excellent business climate is forming in NE China.