Industrial upgrade

To revitalize its old industrial bases, the province has been striving to bring into full play the role of pillar industries, step up growth of competitive industries and pursue innovation-driven development, Bayinchaolu said.

Eight key industries including automobiles, petroleum and agriculture product processing contributed 85.2 percent to the province's industrial growth last year, statistics show.

New major projects include an FAW-Volkswagen factory with the annual capacity to make 300,000 vehicles and the PetroChina Daqing-Jinxi oil pipeline that went into operation in January. The Jilin No 1 Satellite is expected to be launched this year.

Jilin has also made remarkable achievements in technological innovation, and the results must be translated into actual productivity at a faster pace, Bayinchaolu said.

In 2014, 165 enterprises undertook 198 research projects worth 2.43 billion yuan in cooperation with universities and institutes. A total of 41 enterprises set up their own technical centers. Last June, Liaoyuan, Siping and Changchun were named national pilot cities for the application of information technologies

Amid a sluggish economy, the province also made great efforts in cultivating new sources of economic growth and promoting the steady development of key industries.

In transportation, the province invested about 5.9 billion yuan in three key projects including the Jilin-Hunchun High-Speed Railway.

A total of 12.56 billion yuan has been invested in nine highway projects.

Benefiting from fertile black soil, eco-friendly agriculture will contribute to Jilin's future growth, Bayinchaolu, Party chief of the province, said at the ongoing National People's Congress session in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The Tonghua airport has been put into operation and the expansion project for Longjia International Airport in Changchun is underway.

E-commerce enterprises in Changchun and Jilin city, including the agricultural e-commerce portal 365good.com.cn, have seen rapid development after the cities were named national e-commerce model cities in 2011.