Ren Xingzhou, director-general of the Institute of Market Economy, led a team to Harbin from August 7 to 9 with the aim of conducting research concerning the Harbin-Changchun commercial area, and they focused on logistics of commodities such as grain and also specialized service sectors.

The institute's vice-director-general, Wang Wei, and research fellows Li Bu and Liu Tao took part in the field study.