Northeast China regains its glory and starts again

The historic decision of navigation and orientation

The first automobile, the first jet aircraft, the first 10,000-ton ship... As a vital industrial base in China, the Northeast region has given birth to countless "firsts" in the industrial history of New China, earning it the title of "the eldest son of the Republic's industry."

Since the CPC Central Committee made the major decision to implement the strategy of revitalizing old industrial bases such as those in Northeast China, the region has made significant progress in economic and social development. However, as the economy has entered a new normal, the institutional mechanisms and structural contradictions in the Northeast have become increasingly prominent, leading to a noticeable slowdown in economic growth.

Deeply concerned and always keeping it in mind, President Xi Jinping has made multiple inspection tours across the region since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. During the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he has also visited the delegations of the three northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia on multiple occasions to discuss plans for revitalization.

Targeted measures at critical stages to tackle tough problems.

On [specific date], President Xi Jinping emphasized during a symposium with the principal officials of the Party committees from several provinces and autonomous regions in Changchun that the revitalization of Northeast China's old industrial bases has reached a critical stage, akin to pushing a boulder uphill or navigating a steep climb.

At that time, Northeast China faced a multitude of daunting challenges: slowing economic growth, sluggish industrial transformation, high factor costs, insufficient market vitality...

On the evening of [specific date], the 9th Asian Winter Games grandly opened in Harbin. In recent years, Harbin has positioned the development of the ice and snow economy as a new growth point, promoting the comprehensive development of the entire industrial chain including ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment, and ice and snow tourism. The photo shows a performance at the opening ceremony. Captured by Yan Yan, a journalist from Xinhua News Agency.

President Xi Jinping emphasized that development is always accompanied by various contradictions. At present, Northeast China is facing new difficulties and challenges in its development. This is due to both common factors, such as the nationwide "three-phase overlay," and specific reasons, including the industrial structure and institutional mechanisms of the Northeast region.

Through repeated inspections and thorough analysis, President Xi Jinping has precisely diagnosed issues and prescribed solutions, clearing the mists of uncertainty for Northeast China's development. He has infused strong confidence, charted a clear path forward, and guided the old industrial base of the Northeast to confront challenges head-on and forge ahead with determination.

From streamlining administration and delegating power to phasing out outdated production capacities, from reforming state-owned enterprises to innovation-driven development, various regions in Northeast China have humbled themselves to change mindsets, benchmark against the best to identify gaps, and recalibrate their course to set off anew. As a result, the economic downturn has been effectively curbed, and the door to rebirth has slowly opened.

Key milestones established the framework, paving the way for a new development landscape.

On the great journey of Chinese modernization, a region must define its role within the national strategic landscape to achieve high-quality development.

Looking back, Northeast China once achieved glory by seizing the historical opportunity of construction in the early days of New China. During the First Five-Year Plan period, about one-third of the key construction projects were located in the Northeast.

On the date, President Xi Jinping emphasized while chairing a symposium in Shenyang on further revitalizing Northeast China that the Northeast region is a crucial industrial and agricultural base for China. Its strategic role in safeguarding national defense, food security, ecological security, energy security, and industrial security is of great importance and is vital to the overall development of the country.

At the symposium, President Xi Jinping emphasized that the revitalization of Northeast China in the new era must be comprehensive and all-round. He put forward requirements for advancing Northeast China’s revitalization in the following aspects: deepening comprehensive reforms based on optimizing the business environment; stimulating endogenous momentum for innovation-driven development with a focus on fostering and strengthening new growth drivers; adopting a scientific and precise approach to build a new pattern of coordinated development; better supporting ecological conservation and grain production to consolidate and enhance green development advantages; deeply integrating into the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative to build a high ground for open cooperation; paying more attention to addressing shortcomings in areas related to people’s livelihoods so that the people can share the fruits of Northeast China’s revitalization.

The new journey sets its sights on key priorities to foster profound transformations.

On September 7, while presiding over a symposium on promoting the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China in the new era in Harbin, President Xi Jinping emphasized that advancing this goal in the new journey of the new era requires implementing the plans set by the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China for achieving new breakthroughs in the region’s revitalization. Efforts should be made to forge a new path of high-quality development and sustainable revitalization, striving to write a new chapter in the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China.

A good chess player seeks to control the board as a whole; a good strategist aims for long-term success. As the grand endeavor of Chinese modernization unfolds in Northeast China, President Xi Jinping has envisioned a broader picture and planned major steps to seize major opportunities. Achieving greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology will enable Northeast China to turn its strengths in education, science, and industry into drivers of development. Fostering a new pattern of development will further highlight the region’s strategic importance. And advancing Chinese modernization requires Northeast China to play a bigger strategic role in this regard.

How to fulfill the mission and seize the opportunities? President Xi Jinping has outlined key priorities: driving industrial innovation through technological advancement, accelerating the establishment of a modern industrial system with distinctive strengths of Northeast China; focusing on developing modern large-scale agriculture to expedite agricultural and rural modernization; speeding up the construction of a modern infrastructure system to enhance the level of internal and external openness and cooperation...

Those who strategize for major trends are adept at making moves at critical points; those who plan for the overall situation excel in paying attention to details. At the symposium this year, President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of actively fostering strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, advanced manufacturing, and electronic information, as well as nurturing future industries. He called for accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces and enhancing new drivers of development. Efforts should also focus on optimizing the innovation and industrial environment, strengthening the development and utilization of human resources, increasing policy support for talent revitalization, creating more platforms for entrepreneurship and innovation, and supporting Northeast China in retaining and attracting talent.

On [specific date], President Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, where the "Opinions on Further Promoting New Breakthroughs in the Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China in the New Era" were reviewed.

On the specific date, President Xi Jinping, while receiving a work report from the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, emphasized that the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China ultimately depends on reform and opening up. Efforts to advance reforms should focus more on addressing issues, highlighting key priorities, and tackling challenges, with greater emphasis on building a law-based government, optimizing the business environment, upholding and implementing the "two unwavering principles," and improving the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics.

On [specific date], President Xi Jinping emphasized while listening to the work report of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government that further comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up is crucial for the full revitalization of Northeast China. It is essential to actively integrate into the construction of a unified national market, create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized, and establish a new and higher-level open economic system.

A historic change in pursuit of dreams

"Coming to Harbin, we truly feel that 'lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and so are ice and snow.' The culture and economy of ice and snow are becoming new drivers for high-quality development and new bonds for opening up in Harbin," said President Xi Jinping in his address at the welcome banquet for the opening of the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin on [date]. On [date], Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, emphasized once again in Jilin the need to balance ecological and environmental protection with green and low-carbon development, and to utilize unique resources such as ice and snow, natural landscapes, and ethnic customs to boost tourism.

Under the cordial care of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Northeast China is undergoing a historic transformation.

Accelerating momentum, the development trend is changing.

If we observe the economy of Northeast China over the span of years, from the "13th Five-Year Plan" to the "14th Five-Year Plan," it is evident that the region's economy has moved away from low-speed stagnation and is showing a clear upward trend.

Industry is the "ballast" of the Northeast economy. Walking into the workshop of Shenyang Blower Works Group, the production information of each production line is scrolling in real time on the large screen. "Through digital transformation, even old enterprises like ours have been rejuvenated," said the head of Shenyang Blower Works Group.

A batch of strategic emerging industries has grown from "seedlings" to "small trees." In the past year, the output value of strategic emerging industries in Jilin accounted for .% of the total industrial output above the designated size; the added value of high-tech manufacturing in Liaoning increased by .%; the Harbin aviation cluster and the Suihua-Daqing biological manufacturing cluster in Heilongjiang were promoted to national advanced manufacturing clusters; and the industrial added value in Inner Mongolia surpassed the trillion yuan mark...

In recent years, Northeast China has been persistently tackling the development of "national heavyweights." In a certain month and year, the horizontal split centrifugal compressor unit—a key piece of equipment developed and produced by Shenyang Blower Works Group for the liquid air energy storage demonstration project in Golmud, Qinghai—achieved a successful mechanical test run on the first attempt and was officially rolled off the production line. This marked a new breakthrough in China's key equipment for liquid air energy storage.