Living & Traveling

Overview of Heilongjiang Province

Capital: Harbin
 

Major Cities

Daqing, Heihe, Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Qiqihar, Suifenhe

Political Leaders

Provincial Party Secretary: Song Fatang (宋法棠)
Provincial Governor: Zhang Zuoyi (张左以)
Party Secretary of Harbin: Du Yuxin (濜宇新)
Mayor of Harbin: Shi Zhongxin (石忠信)

Economic Overview

Heilongjiang’s GDP reached USD 53.5 billion in 2003, ranking 13th out of 31 Chinese provinces and municipalities.  The province’s GDP growth rate in 2003 was 10.3 percent, compared with 9.1 percent for China as a whole.  Petrochemicals and equipment manufacturing are Heilongjiang’s traditional “pillar‿ industries.  The province is home to the Daqing Oil Field, China’s largest.  Agriculture is also a major industry in Heilongjiang, which is the nation’s largest producer of soybeans.  In 2003, the central government launched the “Revitalize the Northeast‿ plan, in part to further reform and privatize the state-owned enterprises (SOE) which continue to dominate the province’s economy.  Finding employment for the large number of laid-off workers from former SOEs is one of the key challenges facing provincial leaders, and Heilongjiang began implementing a new social security program in 2004. 
 
In 2003, the total value of Heilongjiang’s foreign trade reached 5.3 billion USD, up 22.5 percent over 2002.  Exports accounted for 2.8 billion USD, a 44.6 percent increase over 2002, and imports accounted for 2.4 billion USD, a four percent increase over 2002.  Russia is Heilongjiang’s leading trading partner.  In 2003, trade with Russia accounted for 53 percent of Heilongjiang’s total foreign trade value.  The province’s other major trading partners are South Korea, Japan, and the United States.  Several major American companies have investments in the province, including Anheuser-Busch, John Deere, and WalMart.

Commercial Opportunities

The province has identified heavy industry (specifically, machinery and transportation equipment), high technology products, organic food processing and pharmaceuticals as priority industries in the “Revitalize the Northeast‿ plan.  Opportunities for U.S. exports may exist in those industries, as well as in the disposal of medical waste.  Although provincial officials have expressed interest in building a 47 km. subway line in Harbin and a domestic airport in Jixi, as well as establishing a regional disease control center, the viability of these projects is questionable.

Population

Heilongjiang’s population is 38.1 million.  Ethnic minorities (e.g. Koreans, Manchus, Mongolians, Hui) make up about 5 percent of the province’s population.

Education

Heilongjiang currently has 36 universities and institutes of higher learning, 96 vocational schools, 2,795 middle schools, and 13,995 primary schools.  Prominent universities and university-level institutes include: Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Heilongjiang University, Harbin Medical University, and Harbin Science and Technology University.  University graduates comprise 4.9 percent of Harbin’s population compared with 3.6 percent in China as a whole.