China’s rust-belt region has a new hope for revival: North Korea

Kim Jong-un’s decision to shift priority to economic development could bring prosperity to the whole region, including China’s vast northeastern region

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A statue of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong in front of a residential building in Dandong, the border city which handles the lion’s share of bilateral trade flows between China and North Korea. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:30pm, 21 Jun 2018Updated: 11:20pm, 21 Jun 2018

China’s rust-belt region, which has been plagued by an inefficient state economy and exodus of talent, is now pinning its hopes on a new factor to help its revival: North Korea.

The Chinese province of Liaoning, which shares a long border with North Korea, is in particular looking to woo foreign and private investment as geopolitical tensions ease on the Korean peninsula.

While North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was paying his third visit of the year to China to brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on his recent summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore and to seek economic aid from Beijing, an investment promotion forum was gathering in Shenyang, Liaoning’s capital, on Wednesday. Hundreds of delegates from financial institutions, private investment agencies and research houses, will be exploring potential business opportunities.

Trucks cross the friendship bridge connecting China and North Korea in Dandong. Photo: AP

While North Korea is not on the official agenda of the conference, hosted by Euromoney and the Shenyang government, and there is no sign of delegates from Pyongyang, North Korea is one of the optimistic talking points among the attendees.

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