Li offers vision of revival for Northeast

"The region needs to find an internal driving force for growth and nurture its competitive edge by diversifying its products and raising their added value," he said.

Xu Xiaoqing, director of the agriculture department at the Development Research Center of the State Council, pointed out that Heilongjiang grew 4.1 percent in the first quarter, ranking lowest among all provincial-level regions across the Chinese mainland.

Still, Xu said Heilongjiang has taken a leading role in modern agriculture in terms of its farming scale, use of technology and per unit yield, not only in China but also in the world.

However, "besides agriculture, Heilongjiang has no core industries, so slower economic growth is reasonable".

Region 'Should unleash potential'

China's broad northeastern border areas could unleash significant potential by furthering reform and opening-up, said Wei Jianguo, secretary-general of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Russia, South Korea and Japan all are important trading partners and the northeastern border areas have unique regional advantages. However, the development strategy for the region has been a bit conservative and should shift to a more open-minded one in a time of peace, he said.

"China's economy is highly complementary with the Far East area in terms of trade advantages, but the potential hasn't been fully explored," said Wei.

Northeast China has been a major traditional industrial base of the nation with a focus on heavy industry, agriculture and manufacturing. More efforts should be made to tap into the potential of border trade and make these products more popular in neighboring countries.

China has great potential to further cooperate with Russia in terms of land, markets and resources, he said.

China should promote trade in services with these countries.

Infographic: China's economic performance in H1, 2014	China stresses targeted policies to balance economy, risks