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Jilin province to benefit from stronger auto sector

BEIJING - The auto sector will help boost the economy in China's Jilin province this year, bringing the northeastern province's industrial profits to historic levels.

The province's industrial profit will top 15 billion yuan (US$1.81 billion) this year, which is more than the total for the entire period from 1990-1999, according to the local statistics bureau.

And the province's gross domestic product (GDP) will also witness double-digit growth, reaching 10 percent after six years of poor results, said Chen Jianhua, director of the Statistics Bureau of Jilin province.

The auto and auto components industry are mainly responsible for this growth, said Chen.

Auto industry output reached 55.9 billion yuan ($6.76 billion) in the first half this year, accounting for nearly half of the province's GDP. And it contributed 6.5 billion yuan ($786 million) in profits, accounting for 70 percent of its total industrial profits.

We should stick to the auto industry and develop Changchun into the nation's biggest auto center over the coming years, making full use of this great opportunity to revitalize northeast China, said Zhu Yejin, mayor of Changchun city.

The city of Changchun and Jilin province as a whole were major industrial bases in China prior to national reforms. The region, however, has been beset by problems over the past two decades.

China's central government has attached great importance to revitalizing northeast China's economy since last year. But some experts are worried the overheating auto market may lead to a new round of duplication of similar projects as more regions become involved.

Many provinces have decided to develop auto manufacturing as their pillar industry, even though they do not have a base, said Yi Baozhong, economics professor at Jilin University.

(Asia Pulse/XIC)
 
Dec 2, 2003


 


   
         
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