China will strengthen ties with foreign partners to revitalize the economy in northeast China and to further cooperation in Northeast Asia, a senior official said.

"The outside world has actively voiced support of China's strategy to revitalize the traditional industries in the northeast region. Officials and business leaders from many countries keep coming to seek opportunities for cooperation," Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said on Saturday at the International Conference on Revitalizing Northeast China and Promoting Regional Cooperation in Northeast Asia in this port city of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Sponsored by the National Development and Reform Commi-ssion and the State Council's Office for Revitalizing Northeast China, the two-day conference was held at Premier Wen Jiabao's suggestion when he met with the leaders of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members and Japan and the Republic of Korea last October.

Participants include high-ranking officials and experts from a dozen countries, international organizations and world-known transnational companies.

With participation of the neighboring countries, "encouraging progress has been achieved" in regional business cooperation, the vice-premier said.

Rich in resources and known as a heavy industrial base, northeast China has fallen behind in economic development in recent years, Zeng said.

To attract foreign funds and technologies to the region, China has mapped out many preferential policies to encourage foreign partners to take part in the industrial restructuring of the region by various means such as annexation or joint-stock of state-owned enterprises, especially those in equipment manufacturing, shipbuilding, automaking and petrochemicals, Zeng said.

The policies include exemption of agricultural taxes in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces and value-added tax reform in some industries.

Commercial banks are allowed to take flexible measures to handle non-performing assets and loans to State-owned enterprises.

Zeng said an improved environment and healthy market system is needed for foreign investment.

The country has started 160 high-tech projects since last year to restructure and upgrade traditional industries in the region, said Zhang Guobao, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Zhang said other plans are made or under discussion such as master plans for the three provinces in the region and the plan to build Dalian into an international navigation center.

Infrastructure such as power supply and communications are top on the list of the commission's key tasks, said Zhang, also the director of the State Council's Office for Revitalizing Northeast China.

Zhang disclosed the Ministry of Railway has signed an agreement with the provinces to build two new railway lines and one of them is passenger railway line from Harbin in Heilongjiang Province to Dalian in Liaoning Province.

Foreign and private funds are encouraged in the operation of the projects, Zhang said.

(China Daily September 27, 2004)