State Council green lights accelerated development plan

On July 1, a State Council meeting, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, approved the development plan of the coastal economic belt in Liaoning province. This economic belt includes Dalian, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Panjin and Huludao, six cities situated along the coast of Liaoning province.

These cities are located along the Bohai Bay rim and are endowed with a number of geographic advantages, making them ideally positioned, from an economic point of view, to benefit the whole of Northeast Asia.

All six have access to considerable natural resources, have deceloped a sound industrial basis and possess efficient transport networks.

A statement released after the State Council meeting emphasized the importance of developing the economic belt and improving the country's coastal economic layout, as well as boosting the revitalization of the traditional industrial bases in northeast China.

As a consequence, authorities in the region have been urged to accelerate infrastructure construction in the transportation, energy, irrigation projects and information fields.

The statement said a scientific view should be adopted in the development of the region,

and that local officials should take environmental capacity and development potential into consideration when making any major development decision.

The plan aims to highlight the region's function as northeast China's access point to the sea and a vital economic gateway in its opening up process.

It is envisaged that the region will now be at the forefront of international economic cooperation, making full use of its port resources to give an overhaul to its shipping capability and logistics.

The meeting also called on the region to upgrade its industrial structure, eliminate outmoded technology and embrace a modern industrial system for advanced manufacturing.

A modern agriculture and prosperous rural economy is also envisioned in the region.

The new plan to for the development economic belt was evolved from the earlier proposal relating to "Five Points, One Line".

Liaoning's provincial government initiated the "Five Points, One Line" development strategy in 2005 as part of the province's 11th Five Year Plan (2006-10) and as an integral part of its bid to build a coastal economic belt as an commercial engine for the province.

The "Five Points" refers to the areas of Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone in Dalian, the Yingkou Coastal Industrial Base, the Liaoxi Jinzhou Bay Coastal Economic Zone, the Dandong Industrial Zone and the Zhuanghe Huayuankou Industrial Zone in Dalian.

The "One Line" refers to a proposed expressway linking the coastal cities. This is seen as a key component in stimulating growth in the belt.

(China Daily 09/10/2009 page35)