Northeast has potential to relive radiant past

NORTHEAST CHINA, comprising Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, received only four angel investments totaling 7 million yuan ($106,000) last year, according to a recent report on China's investment market. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

That angel investors have little interest in the northeastern provinces has a lot to do with the exodus of young talents from the region, the rapidly aging population and the unfavorable atmosphere for innovation. But it would be unfair to say the region has no future, because a majority of northeast residents, be they civil servants, scholars or entrepreneurs, are neither narrow-minded nor against market-based competition.

True, the old development mode, which is highly reliant on State-owned enterprises and labor-intensive heavy industries, appears to be an anachronism in these times of intensive market-oriented reform. That explains why local talents keep leaving home in search of better careers.