Province lays out the path ahead

Jilin's goals this year to include industrial upgrading, better business environment and poverty alleviation

Northeast China's Jilin province has set ambitious goals for 2019. Before the year is out, provincial leaders aim to promote industrial upgrading, stimulate market vitality and improve the business environment to stabilize economic growth. It also aims to build an environmentally-friendly, more convenient and harmonious society for its people.

As a gateway to the rest of northeastern China, as well as Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Jilin will be a pioneer in further opening-up, focusing on its rich resources in winter recreation, agriculture and automobile manufacturing. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China, Jilin is working to make its contribution to the revitalization of Northeast China through high-quality development.

Here are the highlights of the province's major plans in 2019, as released in its government work report.

Key projects selected to achieve 6 percent growth

Jilin is a traditional manufacturing base in Northeast China. Automobiles, petrochemical engineering, agricultural product processing, aeronautics and astronautics and other real economy-related industries play an important role in supporting its economy.

In 2019, Jilin's industrial output growth is expected to reach 6 percent, 1 percentage point higher than 2018.

To achieve the goal, the local government plans to conduct 400 key projects, involving industrial manufacturing, infrastructural construction and ecological protection.

The Cuican Industrial Park in Changchun New Area in the provincial capital, currently under construction, is expected to incubate precision instrument and equipment startups, including semiconductor chips, semi display, lightning, high-end medical equipment and photoelectric analysis and detection devices. The project aims to enhance Jilin's competitiveness in a new round of technological revolution.

Songyuan city is building an integrated refining and chemical production base on Jilin Oilfield, the sixth largest land-based oilfield in China. The new production mode can help to make full use of oil resources, reduce energy consumption and costs, as well as producing more diversified products, to gain a stronger capability to face market risks.

The base, with a total investment up to 70 billion yuan ($10.4 billion), is expected to bring in 150 billion yuan in annual sales and 3,000 job opportunities.

Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture cooperated with Ningbo, Zhejiang province, to build a new energy vehicle production plant last year, with an estimated annual production of 5,000 new energy passenger cars and 5,000 electric logistic vehicles.

When put into operation in August this year, sales of the plant are expected to reach 4.8 billion yuan every year, according to Song Desheng, executive deputy general manager of the major contractor Yanbian Guotai New Energy Vehicles Co Ltd.

A transportation network is key to economic development. The province is building 15 new expressways to link its cities. The four airports, including the Changbaishan International Airport and Yanji Airport, are being renovated to adopt a larger passenger throughput. The third phase of subway construction in Changchun will further facilitate public transportation in Jilin's capital.

In addition, local companies in Jilin have been working to build metros in countries, including Australia, Singapore and the United States.

Jilin also promotes infrastructural construction for its 5G network, which will be faster and more efficient than 4G, and will increase network penetration in rural areas.

The province's many ecological projects are helping to build a green and harmonious environment. Jilin will accelerate the treatment of water pollution in Liaohe River, and enhance ecological protection in Chagan Lake and the water, forests, lakes and grasslands near Changbai Mountain.

It supports clean energy projects, such as biomass power generation. For example, Songyuan city is extracting chemical components from straws to produce fuel.

Innovation-driven strategy targets autos, agriculture

Jilin province is promoting the construction of intelligent connected vehicles at its major local auto enterprise FAW. It will build two roads for the testing of self-driving cars, an experience center for ICV, a big data platform to link automobiles, communications and transportation, to build an intelligent traffic system across Changchun.

Production of NEVs is expected to reach 30,000 this year. The annual production of Changchun-based Hongqi, one of China's oldest auto companies, is expected to reach 100,000, as part of the effort to develop domestic brands.

Meihua Group will conduct deep processing of 3 million metric tons of corn annually to produce functional sugar and organic fertilizers.

It will also build a traditional Chinese medicine cooperative zone with Australia, a wild ginseng international trading center in Qinghe and promote production of insulin glargine.

The Jilin 1 satellites' group network, with their high-definition images, help with forest fire warnings, desertification, offshore rescue, ocean protection and other remote-sensing information services.

The digital economy is an emerging industry in Jilin. The artificial intelligence town of IFlytek Co Ltd will introduce voice recognition, buildings and ICV. A total of 100 companies, including Northeast Industries Group, will introduce intelligent manufacturing. Unmanned aerial vehicles, flight simulators and other aeronautic equipment are to be developed.

To implement the strategy of innovation-driven development, Jilin will enhance cooperation with experts from the Chinese Sciences Academy, Tsinghua University, Peking University and other institutes.

Import, export volumes rise amid further opening-up

Jilin province will open its economic, tourism and agricultural resources to other countries, boosting regional development and better participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Import and export volumes are expected to grow by 6 percent this year. It will import more oil and gas from Russia and deepen cooperation with Japan and the Republic of Korea in high technologies, healthcare, culture, tourism, film and intermediary services.

It will cut the negative list of foreign investors and lower the barriers for them to enter the market. It supports major local products, such as locomotives, automobiles and agricultural products to go global.

Jilin has rich winter recreation resources, with abundant ice and snow. It holds ice exhibition, festival and fishing events every year, which has become a brand for the region.

In 2019, more cooperation in winter sports training, research, equipment and ice and snow tourism will be seen between Jilin and Finland.

It will renovate the highway and railway from Hunchun city to the Port of Zarubino in Russia. More cross-border cargo trains will run between Changchun and Europe in 2019. The trains take advanced machinery equipment, electronic components and liquid crystal displays from Changchun to Europe, and bring European meat, seafood and cars back to Jilin.

'Service first' philosophy to streamline regulation

The province will reduce time and price and improve services for companies under the principle of "service first".

The time for companies to receive approval of registration, construction, acceptance and power will be shortened. The reform of cutting red tape is under online and offline supervision.

It will reform the financial system to separate tax from income to reduce operation cost for companies, and also encourage banks and other financial institutions to support financing for small and micro businesses.

To support the private economy, it will lower the barriers for private companies to enter educational, tourism and cultural fields by giving their equal rights in approval, financing and bidding.

It will encourage State-owned enterprises to reform and upgrade their management structure to enhance innovation and improve competitiveness in the market.

It will adopt digital and intelligent tools to optimize civil affairs services. It will accelerate the building of a financial service center, boost regional equity market development and attract more listed companies to Jilin.

Rural revitalization to improve lives of residents

Jilin plans to renovate shantytowns and develop modern agriculture to improve people's livelihoods in rural areas. It supports villages in the use of digital tools to improve efficiency and optimize operation.

It aims to lift 60,000 people out of poverty in 2019 and to make sure there are no remaining poor villages and counties, by developing rural tourism, rural e-commerce and other suitable industries.

Stock farming, rice, grain, black fungus and ginseng are some of the unique agricultural products of Jilin. The province will promote brand building and massive production of such goods.

It will also work to optimize waste treatment, renovate old roads and carry out ecological protection to create a better environment for rural people.

On Monday, Bayinchaolu, Party chief of Jilin, shared his thoughts after attending the two sessions, annual meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body earlier this month.

He said it is an important event in a year that marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and a critical stage of realizing the country's first Centenary Goal - building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the Communist Party of China celebrates its centenary in 2021.

He said Jilin will focus on stable progress and high-quality development, strive for balance and coordination, and prevent major risks. This will promote sustainable social and economic development of Jilin and realize overall revitalization.