With the central government stepping up regional programming in its long-term development strategy, experts and officials hope Northeast China will not be neglected.

Eleven CPPCC members submitted a proposal that calls for concrete regional programmes for the revitalization of the nation's old industrial bases in Northeast China.

Economic integration of Northeast China should be sped up as the three provinces, including Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, have already witnessed enhanced co-operation in fields such as energy, transportation, tourism, logistics and information, the proposal said.

"Reviving the Northeast is not an issue of a single province," said Wang Yunkun, Party secretary of Jilin Province and an NPC deputy. "It needs co-ordination and we should view the three as a whole when making future plans."

He urged central policy-makers to work out rational distributions of industries in the region, taking into consideration the special advantages of each of the three provinces.

For example, Liaoning has relatively developed machine-building, port and equipment industries; Jilin is powerful in auto and other transportation manufacturing realms; and Heilongjiang's advantages lie in energy and power station equipment manufacturing.

"Northeast China will never revive without a unified regional economic zone," said Li Xiangping, vice-president of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.

"The success of the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta indicates that regional co-operation and development have become the new trend," he said.

Now, government departments are busy working on regional planning of the two deltas for the nation's 11th Five-Year (2006-2010) Plan. Such plans should also be created for the northeastern area, experts say.

Li said that the three provinces in northeastern China have unique industrial claims. But fragile inner economic connections have led to weak regional co-operation.

Li noted that as neighbouring Japan and South Korea are planning to shift some manufacturing industries out in a move to focus on high-tech industries, Northeast China has the potential to become a new manufacturing base, thanks to its preferential geographic location, rich resources and a large number of skilled but low-cost workers.

"If northeastern China formed a uniform economic zone, it would become more attractive and competitive," Li said.

However, none of the four major cities in the region - Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun and Harbin - can play the role of central engine in the regional economy.

Li said the most important step in forming the regional economic zone is to build Dalian into a shipping hub of Northeast Asia.

"If Dalian could work as the heart of northeastern China, the needed integration can take off," Li said.

(China Daily March 15, 2005)