On April 27, the State Council approved setting up the Suifenhe-Dongning pilot development and opening-up zone in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province.

As an important measure of China’s opening-up efforts, the move will help strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia, expand trade exchange and pragmatic cooperation with northeast Asian countries and revitalize the old northeast industrial base, according to the State Council.

The implementation plan will be issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, while the construction work will be led by Heilongjiang provincial government.

According to the State Council, efforts should be made to promote inter-connectivity of basic infrastructures, deepen investment and trade cooperation, develop local industries, boost urbanization, improve people’s livelihoods, strengthen ecological construction and environmental protection and optimize the developing environment.

The efforts will build the pilot zone into a significant platform for China-Russia strategic cooperation and northeast Asian opening-up cooperation, a comprehensive traffic hub that connects China with Russia’s Far East region, an economic growth point along border areas, and a demonstration zone of the policy of bringing harmony, security and prosperity to neighbors, it said.

The State Council also asked Heilongjiang provincial government to play an effective role in allocating market and public resources to steadily promote pilot zone development.

The construction plan should consider environmental protection and effective utilization of resources, such as land use and construction regarding major policies, and projects should report to the State Council.

The State Council also asked related departments to give guidance and policy support to construction of the pilot zone.