21.8.2001

JILIN PROVINCE（吉林省）

 

Economic Indicators

	1999		2000
Economic Indicators	Value	Growth	Value	Growth
		(%, y-o-y)		(%, y-o-y)
Area (sq km)	187,400	--	187,400	--
Population (mn)	26.6	0.5	27.3^	2.6
Gross Domestic Product (RMB bn)	167.0	6.8 *	183.1	9.0 *
Per Capita GDP (RMB)	6,302	6.2	N/A	N/A
Disposable Income Per Capita
- urban (RMB)	4,480.0	6.5	4,810.0	7.4
- rural (RMB)	2,260.6	-5.6	2,022.5	-10.5
Fixed-assets Investment (RMB bn)	41.3	17.7	48.5	17.4
Added Value Output
- primary industry (RMB bn)	42.8	3.4	40.0	-6.5
- secondary industry (RMB bn)	66.2	12.2	79.2	19.6
- tertiary industry (RMB bn)	58.1	3.5	63.9	10.0
Retail Sales (RMB bn)	73.4	7.9	81.1	10.5
Inflation (Consumer Price Index, %)	-3.3		-1.4
Exports (US$ bn)	1.2	9.9	1.5	25
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	0.4	25.0	0.4	0
Imports (US$ bn)	1.3	21.8	1.5	15.4
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	0.6	7.0	0.7	16.7
Foreign Direct Investment
- number of projects	355	-3.3	363	3.3
- contracted amount (US$ bn)	0.5	-9.1	0.6	32.6
- utilized amount (US$ bn)	0.3	-26.4	0.3	11.9

Notes: * In Renminbi real terms                      

^ Latest population census, 1999 figure was estimate base on previous survey.

Sources:   Jilin Statistical Yearbook and State Statistical Bureau

 

General Background

 

Jilin is situated in the central part of northeastern China, bordering Russia and North Korea in the east and southeast.  The province is largely covered by grassland in the west and shaped by the Changbai Mountains（長白山）in the east.  Plain area（Western Plain 西部平原 and Liaohe Plain 遼河平原）accounts for 30% of the province's total land.  Songliao Plain（松遼平原）, one of the famous black soil area in the world, is also situated in the province.

 

The province has four ethnic minorities autonomous areas, namely, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Area（延邊朝鮮自治州）, Former Russian Autonomous County（前郭爾羅斯自治縣）, Changbai Korean Autonomous County（長白朝鮮族自治縣）and Yitong Man Autonomous County（伊通滿族自治縣）. 

 

Changchun（長春）, the capital of the province, and Jilin（吉林）are open cities enjoying similar preferential policies as in the coastal open cities.  Besides, Hunchun（琿春）, situates at the lower reaches of the Tumen River（圖們江）, was selected by the State Council in March 1992 as an open border city with enlarged autonomy in foreign trade management, foreign investment approval, taxation and transfer of land-use rights.

 

The Changbai Mountain Forest Zone is one of the most important timber production bases in China and its annual output ranked top in the whole country.  Besides, the Jilin Oilfield（吉林油田）, one of the biggest oilfields in China, produced 3.6 million tons of crude oil in 1999.

 

Jilin is also an important grain production base in China.  Its corn output ranked the first in the country.  The province is also famous for ginseng and pilose antler（鹿茸）and their outputs are high in the country.   Jilin is rich in traditional medicine resources and it aims to develop as an important production base of herbal medicine. 

 

Infrastructure

 

Water Transport － Inland water transport is available between April and November along the Songhuajiang River（松花江）.  Da'an Port（大安港）with annual handling capacity of 1 million tons is a first-class inland open port in China.  Direct sail to some ports in Russia is also available. 

 

A new land-water route, the Hunchun-Zarubino-Sogcho route, links China with Russia and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was opened in May 2000.  The new route starts from Hunchun of Jilin and ends at Sogcho of ROK, passing through Zarubino of Russia.  It takes approximately 17 hours for one-way trip and is currently the only direct passenger/cargo transportation line between China, Russia and ROK around the Sea of Japan. 

 

Railways － The Jingha Line（京哈線）is the most important trunk line in the province.  Other major lines include Shenji Line（沈吉線）, Simei line（四梅線）, Meiji Line（梅集線）, Changtu Line（長圖線）, Changbai Line（長白線）and Pingqi Line（平齊線）, linking with major cities in northern China such as Shenyang, Tianjin, Dalian and Qinhuangdao.  The railway networks handle more than two thirds of the province's cargo transport.  Access to the CIS and Europe is also available by railways via Harbin and Manzhouli（滿州里）. Besides, the electrification of the Harbin-Dalian Railway is on its way.

 

Besides, a new railway line has been opened which links Hunchun in Jilin and Makhalino in Russia.  The new line will speed up cargo transportation from China to Japan, Republic of Korea and North America by passing through Makhalino station in Russia. 

 

Highways － Jilin's highway networks centre around Changchun, Jilin, Yanji（延吉）and Tonghua（通化）. The construction of the YanBian-Tumen Expressway (延边-图们高速公路) is completed recently. The Shenha Expressway（沈哈高速公路）from Shenyang to Harbin that runs through Jilin is under construction.

 

To further develop foreign trade with Korea and Russia, the Jilin government invested heavily on improving transportation in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Area. This project was called the “Ten Billion Dollar Project”. So far, as part of the project, the Changchun-Hunchun Expressway（長春－琿春高速公路）, Yanji- Tumen Expressway（延吉－圖們高速公路）, and Hunchun-Shucao Integrated Passage（琿春-束草海陸聯合通道）are all under construction.

 

Air Transport － Jilin has four airports which locate in Changchun, Jilin, Yanji and Liuhe（柳河）, offering domestic and international air routes.  International flights to Hong Kong, Vladivostock and chartered flights to Seoul, Sendai, Niigata, Irkutsk and Minsk are available.

 

Telecommunications － Mobile phone service is available in major cities.  By end-2000, mobile phone users reached 2.03 million in Jilin.  Pager users reached 1.56 million. Internet users reached 256,000.

 

Industries

 

In 2000, Jilin's industrial output totalled Rmb 168.0 billion (+12.3%).  The province has advantages in developing machinery, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, metallurgy and forest industries.  At present, automobiles and petrochemicals are named the pillar industries in the province. 

 

Pharmaceutical industry in Jilin includes chemical drugs, TCM drugs, medical instruments and medicinal packaging.  Output of chemical and patent drugs accounts for 90% of the industry's total. 

 

The Changchun First Automobile Manufacturing Factory（長春第一汽車制造廠）is the first advanced car manufacturer in China, making Changchun one of the largest automobile production bases in the country.  The city also owns a state-level automobile wholesale centre and its automobile output ranked the first in China in 1999.

 

Jilin is also an important petrochemical production base in China.  The Jilin Oil Field and the Jilin Chemical Industry Corporation（吉林化學工業總公司）based in Jilin city provide a variety of chemical materials for foodstuff, medicine, textiles and other light industries.

 

Tourism

 

Jilin has abundant tourist resources.  Main tourist sites in the province include the Changbai Mountain Natural Reserve（長白山國家級自然保護區）and the Xianghai Natural Reserve（向海國家級自然保護區）, the Songhua Lake（松花湖）and the Jingyue Pond（靜月潭）.  In 2000, over 222,700 (+40.1%) tourists visited the province and generated revenue of US$58 million (+28.9%).

 

Consumer Market

 

Retail sales of consumer goods in Jilin rose by 10.5% to Rmb81.1 billion in 2000.  Major consumer centres are located in Changchun, Jilin city and Siping（四平）.

 

Major department stores and shopping centres include Changchun Zhongbai Shopping Center Shareholding Co. Ltd.（長春中百商廈股份有限公司）, Changchun Department Store Co. Ltd.（長春百貨大樓股份有限公司）, Changchun Zhongxin Department Store Co. Ltd.（長春中興百貨有限公司）, Changchun Hualian Shopping Center Co. Ltd.（長春華聯商廈）, Jilin Dongfang Shopping Arcade Co. Ltd.（長春東方商廈股份有限公司）, etc.

 

Science and Technology

 

Jilin is at the forefront in the research fields of optics, applied chemistry, physics, biological engineering and automobile.  More than 11 state-level key laboratories are located in Changchun.  The Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry（長春應用化學所）and Changchun Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics（長春光機所）are prestigious research institutes under the China Academy of Sciences.

 

A new optical electronics industrial park will be built in the province.  The park, namely "optical valley", is being set up by the Institute of Optical Precision Machinery and Physics, the branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun and the Changchun Economic Development Zone.  It will focus on the optical electronics, instruments and information technology industries.  With a total investment budget of US$2.2 billion, the park will be constructed by two phases over a period of five years. 

 

Foreign Trade

 

Jilin's exports rose by 25% to US$1.5 billion in 2000 and light industrial products accounted for 44% of the total exports.  Major export goods included dried bean, vegetable, automobiles, garment, textile, steel products, cement, frozen beef, etc.  Major export markets were Japan, Republic of Korea, the US, Hong Kong, and North Korea.  

 

Imports increased by 15.4% to US$1.5 billion in 2000.  Major import goods were auto-parts, fertilizer, chrome ores and machinery.  Major import sources were Germany, Japan, the US, Italy and Republic of Korea.

 

Foreign Investment

 

In 2000, the number of approved foreign-funded projects totalled 363 (+3.3%) with contracted foreign investment of US$596 million (+32.6%).  The region actually used more than US$337 million (+11.9%) of foreign capital in the year. 

 

Foreign investments were mainly involved in manufacturing, agricultural processing and property development.   In coming years, overseas investments are encouraged to invest in the fields of textiles, metallurgy, petrochemicals, machinery, electronics, building materials, pharmaceuticals, food processing industries, as well as energy, transportation, and the tertiary sector.

 

Changchun, Jilin city and Siping are the major cities in Jilin to attract foreign investment.  Some well-known enterprises have also invested in the city such as Pepsi-Cola, Ford and Chrysler from the US, Pilkington from the UK, Siemens and Volkswagen AG from Germany, etc.

 

The UNDP has been supporting a large tri-national development project aiming at turning the Tumen River area（圖們江地區）into a network of specialized port and a transportation hub in Northeast Asia. Jilin's Yanbian Chaoxian Autonomous Area（延邊朝鮮自治州）and Hunchun（琿春）are expected to benefit most from this massive project in terms of attracting overseas direct investment.

 

To reform the existing processing trade system and to go in line with international practice, the Chinese government has decided to set up export processing zones in 15 pilot cities.  Hunchun is selected as one of the cities in this trial program.  Export processing zones are special restricted areas administered by the Customs.  Goods moving in and out of the zones are regarded as imports and exports.  Enterprises involving in export processing, storage and transportation are allowed to be set up in the zones. 

 

To boost the development of the central and western regions in China, the State Council has granted further tax incentives to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) in China.  Under the existing policy, FIEs are entitled to a three-year tax reduction and exemption.  The new policy allows foreign-invested enterprises in the central and western regions to enjoy another three years of preferential tax rate when the current preferential term expires.  The tax rate can be further reduced to 10% if an enterprise is proved to export more than 70% of its annual output in terms of value.

 

Economic Indicators of Major Cities (1999)

	Population	GDP	Industrial Output	Retail Sales
Cities	('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
Changchun   長春	6,912  (+0.6%)	70.7  (+16.1%)	59.7  (+18.7%)	26.5  (+11.3%)
Jilin            吉林	4,300  (+0.6%)	35.2  (+6.3%)	34.1  (+10.7%)	15.7  (+9.0%)
Siping          四平	3,223  (+0.5%)	16.4  (+3.8%)	7.1    (+7.6%)	5.9    (+0.0%)
Songyuan     松原	2,720  (+1.2%)	14.8  (+8.8%)	8.2    (+15.5%)	4.2    (+10.5%)
Tonghua      通化	2,260  (+0.0%)	13.0  (+5.7%)	8.9    (+1.1%)	5.0    (+5.3%)
Baisan         白山	1,323  (+0.4%)	7.8    (+5.4%)	5.7    (+14.0%)	3.4    (+6.3%)

Note: Figures in  (   ) represent year-on-year growth                  Source: Jilin Statistical Yearbook

 

Major Economic & Technological Development Zones (ETDZs)

 

Jilin has 4 state-level and 13 provincial-level development zones :

 

1.        The Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone（長春經濟技術開發區）, was established  by the State Council in 1993.  Foreign investments are encouraged to invest in its four pillar industries: automobiles and auto-parts, extensive processing of agricultural- and agricultural-by products, electronics and chemicals refinement.  Most foreign investors came from the US, Germany, the UK and Italy.

 

2.        Changchun New- and Hi-Tech Development Zone（長春高新技術經濟開發區）, was established in 1992 with the approval of the State Council.  So far, there were 247 foreign-invested enterprises in the zone with total investment of US$1 billion.  Investments are encouraged to invest in fine chemicals, microelectronics, machinery & equipment, pharmaceuticals, biological engineering, and automobiles.

 

3.        Hunchun Border Economic Co-operation Zone（渾春邊境經濟合作區）, adjacent to the Russian and Korea border.  The zone was approved by the State Council in 1992 and mainly develops export process, hi-tech industries, real estate and tourism.

 

4.        Jilin New- and Hi-Tech Development Zone（吉林高新技術經濟開發區）

 

Major ETDZs include Changchun Jingyuetan Tourist Economic Development Zone（吉林靜月潭旅游經濟開發區）and Antu Changbai Mountain Economic Development Zone（安圖長白山經濟開發區）.  Besides, other provincial-level ETDZs are located at Songyuan（松原）, Ji'an（集安）, Yanji（延吉）, Dunhua（敦化）, Tumen（圖們）, Gongzhuling（公主嶺）, Da'an（大安）, Dehui（德惠）, Changbai（長白）and Linjiang（臨江）.