Industrial transformation of Shenyang city

Abstract

Industrial transformation represents a unique economic phenomenon in China’s regional economy, and old industrial city reconstruction has long been a key problem that affects state security. As a typical old industrial city in China, Shenyang established its heavy industrial city position in the First Five-year Plan period (1953–1957), and this industrial structure has been consolidated for a long time. After 1978, Shenyang began its long lasting industrial reconstruction in an all-round way by 3 main initiatives including restructuring economic system, up-grading traditional industrial technology and developing high-tech industry. In the end of the 1990s, it could be identified that remarkable structural changes took place in city economy at large as well as individual industrial sector. According to the GDP proportion change, Shenyang is on the way to a high level industrial structure. The secondary industry also engendered significant shifting as smelting and textile industry declined sharply but IT industry increased largely. Although the ratio of the heavy industry to the light industry changed periodically, the heavy industrial output value most time kept a high proportion over 60% of the gross industrial output value in the past five decades. Shenyang has favorable conditions for developing equipment manufacturing industry, but it should carry out the program by establishing its leading role in urban economy plan, building “Theme Industrial Parks”, improving Tiexi Industrial Zone, removing any kind of system barrier, enlarging private and other ownerships economy and improving technology, marketing and management by IT application. In response to economy globalization, Shenyang needs to expand the cooperation worldwide and improve the cohesion with surrounding cities.