Jilin province has announced that it will put more emphasis on the service to make it a new source of economic growth, according to the provincial Party secretary, who addressed city-and country-level officials via a video conference, in the city of Changchun, on Feb 14.

Bayinchaolu went on to say that this is part of the provincial government's effort to develop services during the first year of the new 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020), then added, "Service industry development is an index of the modern economy, against the backdrop of the new normal, and a necessary complement to the larger economy."

He noted specifically that the province will pay more attention to tourism, logistics, and culture to show its own features and increase cooperation with Northeast Asian countries in foreign trade. To do this, he continued, it is vital that the government should be transformed to reduce administrative intervention in the market, and that market access in the service sector should be increased through a more streamlined and decentralized administration as the next step.

In conclusion, Bayinchaolu told the 8,000 officials taking part in the conference that, "This is a complicated, long-term project," and a joint effort of officials at all levels.