Harbin's Mayor Lin Duo speaking at inauguration ceremony for the Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Center's new facilities, on Feb 28. Zhao Yunpeng / For China Daily

Local authorities in the northeastern city of Harbin are looking for money, a large amount, to invest in regional industrial projects to boost the economy in 2011, according to a city government report in January.

Officials expect the GDP of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, to go up more than 12 percent this year, the first year of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

They also expect Harbin's foreign capital this year to increase 10 percent, while that of Chinese investors could go up 30 percent, according to the report.

Harbin has some strength in the industrial sector, in the area of equipment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, petrochemi-cals, and food.

Some of its better-known enterprises are the Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, Harbin Cable Works, Harbin Aircraft Industry Co Ltd, and Hafei Automobile Group.

This year's key projects will cover nuclear power equipment, new-energy vehicles, and civil aviation facilities.

The government said it is encouraging local companies to cooperate with domestic and overseas counterparts. It has also said it will increase market access to private capital and support the growth of small and mid-sized enterprises.

One important chance to boost trade, for local authorities and enterprises alike, is the annual international economic and trade fair to be held in Harbin later this year.

The city government is expecting to increase exports abroad, especially to the neighboring country of Russia.

It has some traditional advantages in the area of Sino-Russian trade, and it wants to attract companies from other provinces, or even other countries, to set up export facilities in Harbin this year.

The city government is looking for a 15-percent increase in trade with Russia this year.

One other area the city government is looking at is technical innovation. It plans to put 3.5 billion yuan into two innovative industrial parks.

The government also hopes to win a National Intellectual Property Work Model City award through its efforts to increase the number of patent applications by 10 percent.

Tourism development

Thanks to its scenery, Harbin has a great amount of untapped potential in the tourism business, and the government plans to work on it this year and in the future.

Local officials know well that tourism could be an important driver in their economic development, and in changing their industrial structure, improving the environment, and bringing up local incomes.

They want to make the best use of their water resources and are planning a wetlands tourist festival this year, with the idea of building a new tourism brand, in addition to the traditional winter attractions.

The goal is to increase local tourism revenues by 20 percent this year.

Harbin is in an area famous for its rich black soil, which is ideal for growing grain, so it is an important agricultural center. By 2015, the local government expects to add 1.7 to 2.5 billion kilograms to its grain output.

This year, the local government expects to increase subsidies for farmers so they can buy more agricultural machinery for use on their lands. It will also push the development of facilities that manufacture agriculture machinery.

(China Daily 03/05/2011 page6)