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In 2014, Heilongjiang unswervingly sticks to the decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, focusing on the development orientation and deepening reform and opening up. The province reached a sustainable growth goal of ensuring a continuous and healthy economic growth as well as social harmony and stability by the ways of executing consistent and stable macroeconomic policies, innovating macro control strategies and methods, and carrying out timely policy fine-tuning. These provide favorable conditions for the economy to achieve a sustained and healthy development in the coming years.
The report points out, in 2014, Heilongjiang reached an expected growth in agriculture and the added value of primary industry. The province’s grain output rose to 62.42 million tons. That figure marked a growth in grain output for the 11th year in a row (In China, the term “grain” refers to cereal, beans and potatoes, while “food” includes grain, edible vegetable oils, meat, poultry, and eggs, dairy and marine products.) Heilongjiang witnessed a significant and conservative growth in organic food and animal husbandry industry giving farmers an upper hand in household income. However, tough challenges and problems in agricultural economy were prominent such as food-dominant structure impeding local economic growth, the deepening slowdown in animal husbandry industry, the upward pressure on grain output and the underdevelopment of rural cooperative banks mechanism of agricultural products. The priorities set out for the next year ahead are as follows: Heilongjiang will launch more pilot programs, paving the way for the modern agriculture; Grain output is expected to be held up reasonable well and slightly stronger in 2015, though it has been stable this year; The province will carry out policy measures of providing some support to revitalizing the eastern China, and speed up efforts for forestry economic restructure caused by a ban on felling of trees; Added value of forestry, animal, husbandry and fishery industry are expected to pick up in 2015; A fast-growing of green agriculture is also expected to drive up ecological environment for agriculture in the coming year.
The report points out, in 2014, Heilongjiang’s industry encountered rare growth-related difficulties. First-quarter growth of the province’s GDP was 4.1%, grew by 4.8% in the second quarter, and 5.2% in the third quarter. The combined GDP was expected to be around 2.2%, dragging down the state average. The steeper slowdown in industrial growth was an essential factor. For the first three quarters of 2014, coal, oil and other energy industries experienced a downturn, and benefits of those industries declined dramatically. Slowdown also brought metallurgical industry losses. Report points out, those factors conditioned the province’s industrial economic growth, and therefore year-round industrial economy benefit was supposed to slightly decrease year-on-year, though the added value of the industry, industrial consumption, the volume of railway freight and other leading indicators showed a modest increase. In 2015, the province’s factory sector and energy industry will face stronger challenges, while a robust growth of food industry and the emerging industries will bring a multitude of opportunities. 2015 is supposed to be a year of significant in terms of giving priorities to facilitating structural adjustment and industrial upgrades, and making economic progress while maintaining its stability.
The report points out, in 2014, the tertiary industry, or the service industry of Heilongjiang expanded in a stable and relatively fast pace, and was a leading indicator fueling the province’s economic growth. In the January-September period, added value of service industry grew by 427.73 billion, accelerating to 8.8% year on year. The growth is higher than that of GDP by 3.6%, and that of the secondary industry by 6.4%, keeping ahead in northeast provinces, 0.1 percentage points higher than Liaoning, 1.5 percentage points higher than Jilin, and 1.4 percentage points higher than the state average. Added value of the tertiary industry in regional GDP hit 47.6%, 2.9 percentage points higher than the previous year, and 7.2 and 14.8 percentages higher than that of Liaoning and Jilin. The contribution to the combined GDP by the tertiary industry was 77.9%, forging a new advantage in the economy, and will be a new engine for boosting the province’s economic growth.
In 2014, Heilongjiang-Russia bilateral trade kept a rising trend, though general import-export trade slid down. Import-export volume hit MYM27.78 billion, dropped by 5.9% year on year, amongst that, export volume reached MYM11.62 billion, fallen by 9% year on year, while import volume decreased 3.6%, a narrow decline to MYM16.16 billion. However, 2014 was a year of bumper harvest for China-Russia trade. In the January-September period, the total import-export value reached as much as MYM17.37 billion, accounts for 69% in the total value, increased by 9.2% year on year. Export value hit around MYM2.2 billion, surged by 36.4%; while import value hit around MYM11 billion, slightly dropped by 1.8% year on year. Russia is a major strategic trade partnership with Heilongjiang. In 2015, the province’s foreign trade will show an apparent resilience, and China-Russia trade is expected to hit double-digit growth in the coming year.
In 2014, preferential policies for employment did heavy lifting, and were expected to achieve the annual target. By the end of September, the province created 600,000 new jobs, fulfilling the job creation target for the entire year, providing jobs for 466,200 laid-off workers, and 206,800 people who have job-related difficulties. 388000 urban residents were registered as jobless, and the rate of unemployment was around 4.4%, within 4.6%. Heilongjiang executed the preferential policies for creating non-profit jobs for labors. By the end of the third quarter, 35900 non-profit jobs were created, and flexible working population reached 2.0219 million.
It is important to ensure the economy runs well in 2015, as it is the final year of China’s 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015) for economic and social development. 2015 is also a crucial year for deepening reforms, and the first year of promoting rule of law in an overall way. Heilongjiang will strengthen the sense of mission and responsibility, and deepen work to carry out the spirit of the Third and Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and Central Economic Work Conference, insisting on long-term economic stability and prosperity, and developing ten major industries’ strategies. Heilongjiang will actively adapt to the economic “new normal”, keep economic growth within a reasonable range, and emphasize economic restructuring. To ensure continuous and healthy economic growth as well as social harmony and stability, Heilongjiang will work to make reform breakthroughs, pursue innovation-driven growth, and boost risk controls and guarantee people’s livelihood.