Manufacturing Industry on Upswing in China

As a major heavy industrial base in the country, Jilin Province has witnessed a steady growth in industry in the past decades.

Jilins manufacturing industry started to take shape in the 1950s soon after New China was founded. 

During the First Five-Year Plan period (1953-1957), automobile, basic chemistry and ferro-alloy industries were highly developed in the province, contributing significantly to the growth and development of New China. 

A large number of State owned enterprises (SOEs) were established in the 1950s and 1960s. 

However, the equipment, technologies, products and management of most of these SOEs became outdated in late 1970s. Most SOEs shaped under the planned economy system fell into dire difficulty after the 1900s when a market economy was introduced into China. 

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), the province made great efforts to help most of its SOEs out of their predicaments. 

In these five years, fixed asset investment in the manufacturing industry topped 66.2 bill8ion yuan (US$7.98 billion). 

A total of 41.6 billion yuan (US$5 billion) was infused into the technological innovation of these SOEs. 

Some 100 key enterprises in the provinces traditional industries have undergone large-scale technical upgrading. 

These arduous efforts have paid off well. By 2000, 80.2 percent of the 252 poorly-operated SOEs which have been listed in the States three-year SOEs reform had stopped losing money. 

Jilins SOEs gained a profit of 7.3 billion yuan (US$879 million) in 2000. Around 70 percent of the SOEs have established modern corporate systems. 

The automobile and petrochemical industries pillar industries of the province experienced reapid development and sustained leading roles in the country. 

Output of the two industries rose by 118.3 per cent and 59.9 percent respectively from 1995 to 1999. 

Machinery, petrochemical, medicine, food, metallurgy and forestry have been developed into the six dominant industries in the province. 

The food, medicine and electronics industries have also been developed in the past few years.  In 2000, output value of these fledgling industries made up 14.7 per cent of the provinces total industrial output. 

To date, Jilin is home to more than 14,000 enterprises, of which 350 are large and medium-sized ones. 

The Changchun FAW (First Automobile Works) Group, located in the capital of the province, is a main auto production base in China.  It has several special and spare parts manufacturing plants located throughout the country. 

Jilin Chemical Industry Group is one of the countrys largest chemical industry enterprises, providing a variety of chemical materials for food, medicine, textile and light industries. 

In the past five years, the provinces private sectors also made rapid progress.   The output produced by shareholding companies and joint ventures contributed 52.9 percent of the provinces total industrial output in 2000, up 11.3 per cent over 1995. 

During the 10^th Five-Year Plant period (2001-20005), Jilin will optimize traditional industrial structure and apply high tech to traditional sectors.