The Changchun Economic and Technological Development Zone has achieved strong growth in recent years.

Statistics show that the gross domestic product (GDP) of the zone in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province, was 19.4 billion yuan in 2006, increasing 29 percent year-on-year.

Huang Wenhua, chief of the development zone's administrative committee

Pillar industries including the automobile and auto parts sectors play a leading role in driving the local economy forward, said Huang Wenhua, chief of the development zone's administrative committee.

The automobile and auto parts industries realized an output value of 22.4 billion yuan last year, up 49.8 percent year-on-year.

With First Automobile Works, a leading Chinese auto industrial player, the development zone became an investment destination, especially for auto manufacturers and auto components providers, Huang said.

Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co Ltd and Changling Group jointly invested in a pickup truck and sport utility vehicle project.

Their initial capital was used in production line renovation, and the following investment in the project amounted to 2 billion yuan, targeting an annual output of 200,000 vehicles worth 13.5 billion yuan.

Like the auto sector, investors from other industries also flocked to the development zone. More than 200 investment projects are registered with the zone's committee.

Huang attributed the investment boom to the friendly environment and improved administrative services.

According to Huang, local authorities invested 2.12 billion yuan last year to construct new infrastructure, including 33 new roads, a bridge and a water, heat and power supply system.

Huang said the authorities have strengthened supervision and administration of the public engineering projects, which are open to public bids in accordance with related regulations.

Meanwhile, governments opened an online application system and shortened the length of administrative approval time to 45 working days, thus facilitating investment inflows, he said.

Figures show that fixed-asset investment in the development zone reached 10.9 billion yuan last year, an increase of 118 percent year-on-year, a record high.

To illustrate the investment boom, Huang cited five investment projects in the development zone with an expected annual output value of more than 10 billion yuan each, and nine projects that each have an investment value of at least $10 million.

Though the central government's decision to tighten control in land and loans may have affected the progress of the investment projects, Huang still believed that the zone would embrace new opportunities for development.

The policy change will help curb unhealthy competition among development zones at various levels, he said.

"With a comparative advantage in teamwork and operational mechanisms, the development zone will gain further growth," he said.

He revealed that GDP of the development zone is projected to reach 24.8 billion yuan in 2007.

Huang named automobiles and auto components, farm products further processing, logistics and exhibition, photoelectrical information, and ecological pharmaceuticals as the key industries for investment.

Technological innovation and refinancing old enterprises will also receive governmental aid, he added.

In addition to the booming investment, the zone's exports have contributed substantially to last year's surging GDP.

As a growing number of local companies began to explore in overseas markets, the zone's exports have shifted from primary products such as grain to high value-added products, including chemicals, automobiles, electronics and raw materials, Huang said.

An analysis on the export commodities structure shows that grain's share of exports has dropped to 14 percent from 55 percent a few years ago, while exports of tires and auto electronic control modules has increased 52.3 and 21.6 percent year-on-year respectively.

Huang said that the export structure will be optimized further. The foreign trade volume is expected to reach $1.01 billion this year.

(China Daily 01/31/2007 page14)