Regions should seek to exploit their comparative advantages

BY SUNDAY, 24 provincial-level regions had disclosed their economic growth statistics over the first three quarters. The polarization tendency of local growth is evident, with Yunnan and Guizhou provinces registering the fastest growth of 8.8 percent and 8.7 percent respectively, and Heilongjiang province the slowest at 4.3 percent. 21st Century Business Herald comments:

Of the 24 regions 17 had seen declines in their growth rates to various degrees from January to September year-on-year. It is fair to say that local development has entered a new stage, which calls for the formation of a national unified commodity and production factor market so that resources can be effectively distributed nationwide and inter-regional competition intensified.

In this process, it is no surprise that different provinces and cities have assumed different positions in the national division of labor, which is reflected in their increasingly differentiated rates of growth and economic structures.