Demonstration zone highlights Sino-ROK business ties

In addition, Li said the zone can take advantage of various resources in Jilin and its neighboring regions.

"Such resources include land and agricultural resources in Jilin province, and forestry and mineral resources in Russia, as well as technological resources in the ROK and Japan," Li said.

The official also mentioned cultural links. "Jilin province has China's largest population of Korean ethnic people, who share the same language and similar culture with those who live on the Korean Peninsula," Li said. "Such an advantage in language and culture can eventually turn into an advantage in economic exchanges and business cooperation.

Chen Yunwu, deputy chief of the Jilin Reform and Development Commission, said the Changchun demonstration zone will have various industrial parks to meet the demands for collaborative development in specific industries.

For this purpose, the zone will have establishments focusing on seven sectors including: IT; advanced and intelligent manufacturing; medicine and healthcare; agriculture; culture and tourism; and educational and scientific cooperation.

To win cutthroat competition in drawing investors among a great number of industrial zones and parks nationwide, the demonstration zone in Changchun has made great efforts to improve its business environment according to international standards.

It has launched reforms in administrative service, featuring delegating approval powers and simplifying business registration procedures, according to a local official.

The official said the zone is positioned to be a new engine to drive Jilin's growth by introducing advantageous international resources to strategic sectors including advanced equipment manufacturing, hydrogen energy, optics and information.

According to Li, the demonstration zone has achieved much development over the year since its establishment. On the day of its founding, the construction of 12 large investment projects with funding totaling 30 billion yuan ($4.64 billion) began at the zone, he said.

By the end of August, a total of 64 projects with investments totaling 58.5 billion yuan are under construction. Another 21 projects with a combined investment of 18.8 billion yuan are planned to start construction by the end of this year.