Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, with its abundant resources and unique geological advantages, is set to become a new destination for overseas investment, said Wang Limin, vice-governor of Heilongjiang.
He said the province's rich natural resources, unique geographical location, advantages in human resources, preferential policies and business environment, make the province a magnet for investment.
Rich resources
Heilongjiang has advantages in the areas of energy resources and raw materials compared to the rest of China. Its production of crude oil accounts for half of China's total.
In addition, its proven coal reserves amount to 22.7 billion tons, and forest reserves are 1.37 billion cubic metres. It is also known for its grain and animal husbandry products.
Heilongjiang boasts abundant electricity resources with a current capacity of 1.2 million megawatts of power generation, and the figure will increase to 2.2 million megawatts by 2010.
Power supply is stable and the cost of electricity is low, with the average price of a kilowatt-hour being only half of that of China's southern regions.
Heilongjiang is one of China's major border provinces. It shares over 3,000 kilometres of borderline with Russia, with 25 national first-class ports and nine Sino-Russian border trade zones.
Currently, Heilongjiang has developed 57 domestic and international air routes, with 16 directly reaching more than 10 countries and regions in the world.
There are 59 universities and colleges, 831 scientific research institutes and 1.2 million professional technicians, making the comprehensive technical strength of Heilongjiang among the best in China.
In many large and medium-sized State-owned firms, there are a large number of skilled management professionals and technicians. Labour costs there are also fairly low.
Favourable policies
The State is implementing a policy to revitalize the old industrial bases in Northeast China, and the central government has granted Heilongjiang strong support in areas of taxation, agriculture policies, social security and increased investment in infrastructure construction.
Heilongjiang is actively optimizing the investment environment by establishing investment service centres and offering investors high-quality and efficient services.
Wang hopes investors at home and abroad seize the opportunity to invest in the province and suggested four key aspects for their future co-operation.
Participation in the reform of State-owned enterprises in Heilongjiang
The state-owned economy takes up a considerable proportion in Heilongjiang. Foreign investors are welcome to make investments in industries such as equipment, medicine, metallurgy, petrochemical, energy, forestry, construction, communications, tourism, finance and foreign trade.
Participation in the construction of the Harbin-Daqing-Qiqihar Industrial Corridor.
In the corridor, a total area of 601 square kilometres will be developed by 2015, with special industrial clusters such as equipment production, petrochemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, high-tech industries and modern logistics to be formed there.
Co-operation in developing the Russian market
Both sides can co-finance the development of Russia's rich natural resources market, such as natural gas, minerals and forests. Investors could also explore the Russian market with the help of the province's sales network in Russia and are encouraged to set up companies targeting exports to Russia.
Co-operation in building the new socialist countryside.
The province needs to absorb huge amounts of capital from investors to meet the demand for the construction of rural infrastructure. Many preferential policies are available in this field.
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