Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    AN unusual episode occurred during the just-concluded “two sessions” (of the NPC and the CPPCC, China’s national legislature and political advisory body, respectively) this year in Beijing.

    On March 6, Lu Hao, governor of Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China, claimed at a meeting that none of the 80,000 workers at Longmay Mining Holding Group, the biggest coal firm in Northeast China, had had trouble with unpaid wages.

    But the governor soon found himself in an embarrassing situation when he found out that not only had many workers been without pay for months, but hundreds of workers in a bind had taken to the street to demand their back pay.

    Obviously, the governor had been kept in the dark by his subordinates. Realizing his own mistake, Lu made a public apology and announced that his government would work with the firm to settle the wage arrears.

    The incident caught much attention both at home and abroad because of the growing public concerns over economic decline in Northeast China, namely the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liao-ning.

    Once China’s industrial heartland and home to the massive State-owned factories that powered the country’s astronomical growth, now the Northeast is the epicenter of China’s economic slowdown. Some even fear that it will end up as China’s Detroit.

    2014 and 2015 saw the three provinces at the bottom of China’s provincial GDP growth ranking list, along with Shanxi Province, a coal-rich province.

    The three provinces are mired in severe financial difficulties, with tax revenues falling more than 70 percent in Heilongjiang and Liaoning’s key industries in 2015.

    “Production has come to a standstill at many local factories and employees no longer go to work. All those companies have bad debts,” a local official said.

    As a result, local government revenues have also slumped in the three provinces.

    The Northeast is undergoing a painful transition from its overreliance on heavy industries such as auto manufacturing, coal and oil to new industries. The industrial restructuring and upgrading will be extremely tough because the provinces are loaded with overcapacity, aged equipment and technology and the resettlement of laid-off workers in large numbers.

    Other factors, such as the cold weather and undesirable infrastructure, also deter outside investors.

    But we needn’t sit lamenting the fading of the glory of the former industrial giant. China’s experience in past decades demonstrates that hard-working and resourceful Chinese people will strive to pull through and revive the Northeast.

    China’s massive reform of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the 1990s led millions of dying enterprises to close or merge with other companies, resulting in 26 million employees being laid off. But the price turned out to be necessary and worthwhile. China’s economy has entered a new stage ever since.

    Reform plus innovation is the only formula for a successful transition for the Northeast. Local officials must get rid of outdated thinking and practices and embrace new ideas and emerging industries and technology.

    Last month, the State Council approved plans to establish Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, and Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, as the 16th and 17th State-level new areas. Preferential policies will be rolled out to attract investment and spur the development in those old industrial bases.

    Fortune always favors the brave and intelligent. Robot maker Siasun in Liaoning Province has acquired international repute after selling hundreds of high-performance composite robots at home and overseas. Siasun is poised to become one of the world’s top robot makers.

    In Jilin, the satellite information industry is rapidly emerging. According to a 10-year plan, Jilin will rise as a leader in satellite remote-sensing and integrated application of space information by 2025.

    Armed with the Internet, Big Data and Cloud Computing, traditional industries will come to life again since China’s massive modernization drive demands cutting-edge machines, complete equipment and heavy vehicles, all of which are the Northeast’s strengths.

    What’s more, there is huge potential in the region’s agriculture sector. The Northeast will shine again.

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)