The country's Made in China 2025 pilot program will act as the catalyst in this transformation, according to local officials. The national strategy aims to comprehensively upgrade the industry across China.

 

Northeast China consists of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The region was the country's top industrial hub in the 1970s before declining rapidly in the following decade, when it encountered difficulties in adapting to the structural reforms of the new market economy.

 

It will be the high-end and intelligent manufacturing industries that will lead the region's development in the next decade, said Yang Shuanchang, deputy director of the equipment department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The 11th China-Northeast Asia Expo, for the first time, has set up a pavilion focusing on intelligent manufacturing.

 

A wide array of high-end products are displayed in the pavilion, such as intelligent robots, 3-D printing, smart home appliances and new energy automobiles.

 

Jilin organized the first Made in China 2025 forum on Sept 2, which gathered government officials and business leaders to explore the next growth engine in high-end manufacturing, not only for China but for the whole world.

 

At the forum, Jin Yunhui, deputy governor of Jilin, said the province will speed up its efforts to establish itself as a leading demonstration city for implementing the Made in China 2025 strategy.

 

One example is Changchun-based automaker FAW Jiefang Automotive Co's self-driving truck, which it debuted in April.

 

The intelligent vehicle is capable of recognizing obstacles, slowing down, making detours and speeding up. It can also react to traffic lights, respond to remote commands and successfully overtake other vehicles. FAW Jiefang said it expects to commercialize the vehicle as early as 2018.

 

Xu Liuping, newly appointed chairman of FAW Group, said at the Greater China Forum that a pilot base for self-driving technology is set to start operations in Changchun, Jilin in October. As an important hub for traditional manufacturing, Jilin should seize the opportunities brought about by the national strategy, and make breakthroughs in improving its industrial efficiency and industrial restructuring and upgrades, said Zhang Liang, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade's Jilin committee.