The regional marketing blitz reached its zenith yesterday when governors of the three provinces in China's northeastern industrial belt " Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang " attended a joint briefing session sponsored by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). This was certainly the largest regional marketing event ever staged in China.

But long before the northeastern governors were outlining their vision of future business opportunities, local officials from elsewhere, particularly the southern coast, had already done the same thing. Some signed their first foreign direct investment (FDI) deals around 20 years ago, when the northeastern cities remained predominantly citadels of the now extinct planned economy.

This explains to a great extent the fading lustre of the northeastern industrial belt amid the economic reform and the nation's bold interface with the world market.

As an economic powerhouse and a major supplier of coal, crude oil, steel, and machinery from the 1950s through the " 0s, the northeastern provinces saw their importance decline when they were caught between the daunting task of reforming the nation's largest number of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and a lack of new capital resources.

As the premier discovered in his inspection trips last year, the situation degenerated to the point where some of the northeastern cities were running the nation's highest unemployment rates after their traditional industrial resources were depleted.

This also explains the urgency now felt by the northeastern governors, and shared by many of their constituents, to lead a campaign to catch up with the eastern and southern coastal regions.

Now, with the SOE reform drawing into its final stage and new capital, including FDI, flowing into those provinces, the northeastern industrial base has a better chance to be revitalized.

New industrial zones are being mapped along new expressway systems and seaports, intended to be more accessible for overseas buyers and investors.

Starting this year, the central government is also going to run a pilot tax reform project in the northeastern provinces, likely to generate further incentives for local companies.

But these developments, like the bright predictions for the future, still require some crucial support to bring about a fundamental change in the business landscape of the northeastern provinces.

What the northeastern people need is not just money, whether in the form of unemployment handouts or more capital investment. They also need better protection from the government for their entrepreneurship.

And as is the case in every successful regional economy in China, the most powerful change, especially for once-impoverished towns and villages, has been the nurturing of the local people's creativity.

Sadly, in the 1990s the northeastern provinces were the scene of a number of China's worst cases of official corruption and underground societies " sometimes working in unison.

It was good to hear from yesterday's SCIO briefing session that the governors also promised to maintain a higher standard for the local civil service, to make it truly useful for business development.

 (China Daily )