Province banks on breakthroughs

Party Secretary Zhang also mentioned that the province "is striving to make new breakthroughs in deepening reform and opening-up".

"We should identify the position and comparative advantage of shaping the new development structure, speed up institutional innovation and create a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment," he said. "We will deepen our integration into the Belt and Road Initiative, promote all-around opening-up and cooperation with Russia, and strive to build an important window for China's opening-up to the north."

Zhang Zhixiang, chairman of Jianlong Group, a Beijing-based heavy industry enterprise, said: "Looking back on the layout and development of Jianlong Group in Heilongjiang's steel industry over the years, we have benefited from the province's efforts to optimize its business environment."

In 2003, the group invested in the construction of Heilongjiang Jianlong Iron and Steel Co in Shuangyashan city after the central government made the decision to revitalize the aging industrial bases in Northeast China.

So far, the group has invested 32 billion yuan in Heilongjiang. It has achieved 269.8 billion yuan in sales revenue and has paid 6.7 billion yuan in taxes, effectively promoting the transformation and upgrading of long-established industrial enterprises.

In 2019, the government issued the Regulations of Heilongjiang Province on Optimizing the Business Environment, marking a more law-based construction of the local business environment.

"Policies, including improving services and simplifying the process of administrative review and approval, have greatly increased the convenience of government services and have solved many problems that have hampered the development of enterprises," Zhang Zhixiang said. "Jianlong Group will strive to achieve the goal to reach steel output of more than 10 million tons and sales revenue of more than 100 billion yuan by 2023."

Zhang Qingwei, the provincial Party chief, said: "We will adhere to the system concept while fully implementing the provincial 14th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development. The province will strive to achieve a new victory in the province's modern construction and see new breakthroughs in innovation-driven development, ecological civilization construction, regional coordinated development between urban and rural areas and social civilization. It will also aim for improvement in people's livelihoods and social governance."