CRI听力:Financial cooperation mechanism set up to revitalize Northeast economy

A new financial mechanism has been established to revitalize the so-called "rust belt" in the northeast of China which provides information sharing, investment services and the convergence of financial resources.

Supported by China's central authorities, the mechanism has been launched by the China Development Bank, the State Development and Investment Corporation and over 40 other national banks and financial institutes.

Launching the new program, deputy chief of the National Development and Reform Commission, Lin Nianxiu, says the creation of the new program is coming at the right time.

"Compared with the national average level, the development of the northeast's capital market is still behind. It's hard to raise money in the region, which has created various levels of indirect financing. As of the end of last year, only around 5-percent of all the listed companies in China came from the northeast. While this puts the region behind, it also means there is still a lot of market demand and space to grow," Lin said.

Lin Nianxiu says the new program they're launching should also help prevent risks in the region.

"Only by building a good investment environment can we keep capital and talent in the northeast. We hope this cooperation mechanism can make governments and companies pay more attention on financial innovation and take good advantage of the financial tools to rebuild a business status in Northeast. We want to give investors' confidence and attract more financial institutes to the area," Lin said.

Vice president of China Development Bank, Zheng Zhijie, says the new program should be able to help rebuild the old industrial base of northeast with local financial resources.

"The focus should be placed on financial support, information sharing, risk control, collaboration, innovation and talent cultivation to help upgrade of old industrial bases and diversified development of the local economies. We hope to use multi-level money raising methods by providing more financial products and services to help make new contributions to Northeast revitalization," Zheng said.

Meanwhile, the National Development and Reform Commission has signed cooperation agreements with a number of different national banks to help finance northeast economic projects.

Due to the shrinking of its once-powerful industrial sector and decline of its economic growth, northeast region has become known as China's 'rust belt.'

To shake this off, the central government has launched revitalization plan for the northeast, which includes consolidating outdated industrial capasity and pushing the development of other areas, such as services and tourism.