Jilin province has taken an active part in a regional development roadmap with emphasis on economic cooperation with neighboring countries, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Jilin has even cooperated with Russia's Far East region, its next-door neighbor, in the field of land-sea transport, with the provincial city of Hunchun providing access to the port of Zarubino, Russia finishing some preliminary construction work.

The province has also joined a project with three other provinces in the region to improve customs procedures so that all the four places get easier access to each other in their imports and exports, starting on May 1.

Yan Xuancai, of the city of Dunhua's Party school who has closely followed China's new plan, says that he firmly believes that Jilin needs to get involved, and adds that "Jilin needs to be a policy taker rather than just a bystander."

China's new plan says that it needs "increased cooperation between Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces and Russia’s Far East in the construction of a Eurasian high-speed transport corridor ultimately linking Beijing and Moscow".