Heavy investment from Beijing surges into NE China province

SHENYANG - Liaoning, a northeastern China province, has developed 208 cooperation projects in partnership with Beijing-based enterprises, with incoming investment totaling about 300 billion yuan ($44 billion), the local government said.

In a bid to revitalize China's old industrial base, the central government has rolled out various measures such as pairing assistance and the establishment of a free trade zone in Liaoning.

Beijing, paired with Liaoning, has interlinked key cooperation projects in emerging industries including high-end equipment manufacturing, information technology, new materials and energy, fueling the economic restructuring of the province.

In the first half of this year, Shenyang, the provincial capital, received over one million tourists from Beijing. The Beijing Tourism Group has opened 76 hotels and over 100 travel agencies as well as placed nearly 4,000 ride-hailing taxis in the city, an investment worth over 2.3 billion yuan, according to Zhou Hong, vice-CEO of the group.

Enterprises from Beijing come to review investment projects almost every week, said Li Jun, head of the Hunnan district of Shenyang.

"Beijing has become our major investor and source of talent," said Jiang Youwei, mayor of Shenyang.