Editor's Note: Starting in May, the State Council Information Office has been organizing news conferences for each province, autonomous region and municipality to give briefings about their social and economic development since the founding of New China 70 years ago.
During the Liaoning session held June 25 in Beijing, Chen Qiufa, secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, and Tang Yijun, deputy secretary of CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee and governor of Liaoning, talked about Liaoning's development with reporters.
The Liaoning session is held on June 25 in Beijing, Chen Qiufa (center), secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, and Tang Yijun (right), deputy secretary of CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee and governor of Liaoning, brief reporters about the province's social and economic development. [Photo/scio.gov.cn]
Liaoning is an important old industrial base in China with complete industrial categories and systems, especially in the equipment manufacturing, petrochemicals, metallurgy, aviation and navigation industries. Liaoning also has obvious regional advantages. It is located in the center of the Bohai Rim and Northeast Asia, with 2,110 kilometers of mainland coastline. It is an important node of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) construction, as well as a crucial area connecting the Eurasia Land Bridge, also a vital gateway and frontier area for Northeast China opening to the outside world.
Economic growth
In 2018, Liaoning's GDP totaled 2.53 trillion yuan ($359.71 billion), 214 times that of 1952 at comparable prices. The per capita GDP was 58,000 yuan, 94 times that of 1952. Revenue in the general public budget reached 261.6 billion yuan, 793 times that of 1952. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents reached 37,342 yuan and 14,656 yuan, 103 times and 79 times that of 1978.
People's livelihoods
It has created more than 400,000 new jobs every year for many years in a row. Great progress has also been made in the education sector, with 72 percent of preschool students receiving universal education. The gross enrollment rate in high school reached 99 percent. The number of people living in poverty dropped from 1.26 million at the end of 2014 to 130,200 at the end of 2018. The incidence of poverty dropped from 5.4 percent to 0.6 percent. All impoverished people will be lifted out of poverty this year.
Green development
Last year, the number of days with good air quality reached 296, an increase of 19 days over the previous year, accounting for 81 percent of the whole year.
Industrial restructuring
In 2018, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 9.8 percent year-on-year, with the growth rate ranking third in China. In the first five months of this year, the added value of the high-tech manufacturing industry above the scale increased by 30.5 percent year-on-year, and exports of new and high-tech products grew by 40.1 percent. In the service sector, Liaoning has made great efforts to develop producer services such as finance, logistics, scientific and technological services. Revenue earned from software and information technology services grew 9.6 percent.
Private economy
Last year, 660,000 new market entities were registered, up 5.1 percent, and private investment increased 7.7 percent over the previous year. In the first quarter of this year, the added value of private enterprises above designated size increased by 16.4 percent, and private investment increased by 17.3 percent. Meanwhile, the total import and export volume of private enterprises increased by 11.7 percent, and newly registered private enterprises increased by 17 percent.
Business environment
Since 2018, many major projects have been launched in Liaoning. For example, construction of Shenyang BMW Brilliance plants was started, and Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co Ltd was founded, which, more than $10 billion, is the largest foreign investment project in the province since the BRI was put forward. Besides, the Evergrande Group has invested 280 billion yuan in 12 projects in Liaoning.
Belt and Road Initiative
Liaoning is located in the center of Northeast Asia, with its unique geographical advantages is a bridgehead for China to further economic and trade cooperation with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Mongolia. It will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with countries in Northeast Asia, vigorously attracting investment, deepening economic and trade exchanges, and actively participating in jointly building the Northeast Asia Economic Circle.
Liaoning province [Photo/VCG]
