However, it is the struggle in an embarrassing situation that shows that the gradually weakening northeast economy has never given up its faith and hope of being reborn from the ashes, and has accumulated the most fundamental motive force for the all-round revitalization of the northeast economy.
Breakthrough of provincial capital
Following the typical characteristics of planned economy, almost all the most important industrial enterprises in Northeast China are located in three major capital cities-Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin, except for the industrial layout where mineral resources are located.
The three provincial capitals line up as the industrial centers and transportation hubs of their respective provinces. In that glorious era in Northeast China, they were undoubtedly the pinnacle of glory. In the difficult times in Northeast China, they naturally became the fulcrum of the struggle.
To this day, the Changchun municipal government is still working in the building left over from the Japanese puppet regime. Compared with the luxurious and modern government buildings in other provincial capitals, it is too dull and gloomy, which invisibly puts a dull face on the staff who enter and leave the building.
However, it is in this old-fashioned building that Mayor Zhu is planning and directing a difficult breakthrough.
Wang Cai, deputy director of Changchun Economic and Trade Commission, who also works in the office of enterprise reform, said: "The mayor's meeting arrangement is half an hour ... The most difficult government official is the mayor in the transitional period."
Zhu Zheng is busy looking for a new way out for state-owned assets. In the research project of enterprise debt restructuring conducted by the former State Economic and Trade Commission, Changchun was regarded as a successful case of "alternative method of enterprise debt restructuring in China" and was called "Changchun experience" by international bankruptcy law and enterprise restructuring experts.
Wang Weiguo, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, is the executor of this research project. According to the model carefully designed by him and his companions, more than 35 medium-sized state-owned enterprises in Changchun have carried out purchase, sale and reorganization.
This practice, known as the "Changchun Experience", simply means that the state-owned asset management company registers a new wholly state-owned company, buys the effective assets of the old enterprise, and the old enterprise pays off its debts with the proceeds from asset transfer, and the new enterprise becomes the carrier of reorganization.
This is a brave attempt to get rid of Changchun's economic difficulties.
We might as well take Changchun Electric Furnace Factory as an example to illustrate the difficulty of this attempt.
After the employees were not paid for 14 months, Changchun Electric Furnace Factory, whose asset-liability ratio reached 152%, finally went bankrupt, leaving only its former glory that once dominated the electric furnace market by 70%.
The difficult reorganization began. Changchun Electromechanical State-owned Assets Management Co., Ltd. invested 500,000 yuan to set up Changchun Electric Furnace Co., Ltd., and the new company borrowed150,000 yuan from the bank to buy an electric furnace factory. The electric furnace factory paid off all the transferred assets, which made the bank's debt repayment rate reach 35%, far higher than the average bankruptcy repayment rate of enterprises of 654.38+00%.
According to Wang Cai, deputy director of Changchun Economic and Trade Commission, "Changchun Experience" is a "win-win" result. At least a loan from a bank can get two benefits: the repayment of the old enterprise and the creditor's rights of the new company.
However, the problem in reality seems to be not so simple. In any case, the original electric furnace factory no longer exists, and the disappearance of assets is beyond doubt. How to "win-win" reform must always be borne by someone.
The problem we have to face is that the new company has accepted and placed 460 workers from the original electric furnace factory, accounting for about 3 1% of the total number of original employees, which means that at least 69% of the original employees will flow to the society.
In Changchun, there are currently 35 reorganized enterprises like electric furnace factory. Statistically, the total number of employees who cannot be placed is also a worrying figure.
Perhaps because of this reason, the Changchun Municipal Government finally decided to bear the main cost of the reform, suspend the pace of downsizing, and explicitly demanded that the employment rate of employees in the original enterprises should reach 70% after the restructuring.
Facing the grim reality, the market-oriented rules of the game have been artificially revised again. It is precisely because of this possible revision that people see the gloomy projection left by a city in the transitional era.
Also struggling to find a way out is Shenyang, a major town in the northeast.
This city, struggling with fashion and shabby, was once the most famous traditional heavy industrial zone in China, and Tiexi District was also called "Ruhr District of China".
Today, a considerable number of enterprises in Tiexi District have stopped working on a large scale. In the night, the silent old-fashioned factory buildings are like beasts curled up in the dark, devouring the vitality of urban life.
In today's Shenyang, the difficulties faced in the new century have contacted everyone. In 2003, the task of attracting investment of $2 billion has been divided by the municipal government, and all government officials have carried this indicator. Rumor has it that Mayor Chen released a rumor at the beginning of the year, saying, "If you can't finish the task, you must have a statement." .
In the face of abundant capital, power sometimes has to be lowered. According to officials of Shenhe District Government, in order to attract a Hong Kong enterprise to invest 50 million US dollars, the district government was forced to give in and agreed to build an entertainment city on public green space.
However, no matter how humble the power is, it is inevitable that it will be teased by capitalists occasionally. Some foreign businessmen seized Shenyang's eagerness to attract foreign investment and started a "fishing project". Some media disclosed that a Korean-funded enterprise promised to invest 300 million US dollars to develop high-grade residential buildings. The first phase of the project has been listed soon, but the actual funds received are only $5 million.
Governing a city in a dilemma is not as simple as onlookers see. If we think that Shenyang has a storm of heating in winter every year, it is not difficult for us to understand the heavy pressure of government officials during the transition period.
With such a heavy historical burden, the difficulty of breaking through can be imagined.
But for the three provincial capitals in Northeast China, it is possible to find a way to survive only by breaking through.
Transformation of mining cities
While the capital cities in Northeast China are struggling to break through, the mining cities in Northeast China, which are more numerous than them, are facing a more dangerous situation.
Experts admit that after a hundred years of high-intensity development in Northeast China, many resources have entered a period of exhaustion, which has led many cities set up for mines to find another way out. If the economic transformation is successful, the future is still bright. Once the economic restructuring is blocked, the recession will be more serious.
The end of the mining city is not a joke. Dongchuan, Yunnan, was built by mines, and the municipal organizational system was once remarkable. Unexpectedly, with the shrinking of the mining industry, Tangtangdongchuan eventually merged into Kunming and became a suburb of the capital of Yunnan.
In order to avoid repeating the old road of Dongchuan, Northeast Mining City put all its eggs in one basket.
Oil wells are interspersed in the business district, which seems to have become a symbol of Daqing and a symbol of the city's dependence on oil fields.
Daqing Petroleum Administration Bureau is a deputy ministerial level, and Daqing City is a prefecture-level city. This historical difference determines the lifestyle of the city. Just like the same oil well, the houses in this city are as neat as molds, and the residents of successive cities are too similar and lack personality.
However, the general trend that oil resources tend to be exhausted and the situation of reorganization and restructuring of oil enterprises finally pushed Daqing into the "crater" of transformation and began to fight for its future survival and status.
Daqing's economy is so dependent on oil that the news that crude oil production in Daqing Oilfield has been reduced by 6.5438+0.37 million tons is like a bolt from the blue. Because of this production reduction factor, the industrial added value of Daqing will drop by 65.438+0.6 billion yuan, and the economic index will be lowered by nearly two percentage points.
What is really fatal is not only the reduction of crude oil production, but the city is gradually becoming a "chicken rib" or even a burden in Daqing Oilfield.
With the transformation of PetroChina into a joint-stock company supervised by overseas investors, Daqing Oilfield took the lead in restructuring and rebuilding its own market competitiveness in response to the impact of multinational oil companies.
Reducing costs, reducing redundant employees and increasing profits ... almost every move has become a shock wave that shakes Daqing City. Some media vividly compared Daqing after the separation of government from enterprises, just like a huge satellite launched by a first-class rocket, and suddenly found that it was not equipped with a second-and third-class rocket. ...
The boring figures confirm the helplessness of Daqing's local economy-
The local fiscal revenue of Daqing accounts for only 2.8% of the local GDP, far lower than that of Shanghai (13.2%) and Karamay (6.2%), and even significantly lower than that of Dongying (3.4%).
The annual subsidy of Petroleum Administration Bureau and Daqing Refining and Chemical Company to social undertakings is 24170,000 yuan, which is close to two-thirds of Daqing's total fiscal revenue in 2006, 5438+0. Once enterprises no longer bear the expenditure of "running society", local finance will suddenly fall into an unsustainable desperate situation.
In addition to the existing 300,000 employees of large state-owned enterprises, 80,000 employees in Daqing have already terminated their labor contracts with pay, and there are plans to lay off employees and terminate their contracts every year. At the same time, it is necessary to resettle more than 4,000 college graduates, more than 2,000 retired soldiers and 2 1000 new laborers for employment.
It has been recognized as an "irreversible thing" that Daqing oil production has been reduced and Daqing oil field has finally perished. Today's Daqing, with its hard breathing voice, is calling for a standardized financial system and a rest space. For Daqing, this may be the last chance.
Compared with Daqing, Fuxin has gone further on the road of transformation.
Of course, Fuxin has encountered more twists and turns and hardships because it has gone further.
In 2000, Fuxin's economy hit rock bottom, with 25% of the urban population below the minimum living security line of 1.56 yuan, and the proportion of rural poor population exceeding 50%.
Although 780,000 Fuxin people are hard to accept, they finally have to face the cruel reality that "Fuxin's underground has been hollowed out, coal resources are almost exhausted, and high unemployment seems inevitable".
Fuxin began a difficult economic transformation. However, a chemical city with an investment of 300 million yuan was eliminated by the market before it was built, and the day it was put into production was the time of bankruptcy. What's more, the new project needs to invest 200 thousand yuan to resettle a laid-off worker, which can't solve the problem of laid-off unemployment in Fuxin at all.
Great wisdom comes from the people in the transformation of mining cities.
Li Ying used to be the Communist Youth League Secretary of Xinqiu Open-pit Mine, and now she is the leader of coal miners who participate in "modern agriculture".
Li Ying recalled: "On the day when the mine went bankrupt, we went to say goodbye to the electric pickaxe of the Youth League. 15 people kissed this pickaxe and cried ... "The companions gave their future to their league secretary," You took us to start a business, and we risked our lives to rely on bankruptcy fees ".
On February 24th, 20001year, Mars and 14 brothers raised 200,000 yuan for laid-off resettlement, contracted 50 solar greenhouses in the desert village of Anbala, and later established Green Garden Development Co., Ltd. to help 165 miners find jobs.
Today, 40,000 miners in Fuxin have become farmers in the new era, and the Fuxin government has also identified the development of modern agriculture as the city's economic transformation idea. From 2003 to 2005, Fuxin will build another 35 modern agricultural demonstration parks by attracting investment, and finally achieve the goal of arranging the employment of 42,000 laid-off workers.
However, the solution to the problem is far from simple. At present, the total number of laid-off workers in Fuxin is close to 6.5438+0.6 million. Even if the newly laid-off workers are not considered every year, there are still more than 1 10000 people who need to be resettled as soon as possible.
The road ahead is still arduous, and the light of hope is still foggy.
Enterprise evolution
The depression and sinking of the old industrial base in Northeast China have directly impacted the state-owned enterprises that support the economic lifeline of Northeast China.
1960, the oil battle army entered the hinterland of Songliao basin, and tens of thousands of oil workers from northwest and north China spent their first long night in haystacks and cowsheds.
After 43 years, Daqing Oilfield has become the world of a new generation of oil workers. They are no longer standing on the drill floor holding the brake handle Rainbow Jinxi, but sitting in the operating room where it is warm in winter and cool in summer to operate the pneumatic handle.
However, the improvement of working conditions does not mean that everything is getting better. Today's petroleum workers know best that Daqing Oilfield has entered the late stage of high water cut, the production cost has increased, the production decline has accelerated, and the day when "black gold" is exhausted will eventually come.
Daqing is undergoing unprecedented changes. This change is more reflected in the details of enterprise development, which seems to be less conspicuous.
When Daqing Oilfield, which is only rich in atmosphere, also began to tighten its belt, those struggling enterprises obviously had to pay more.
In Shenyang No.7 Wool Mill, the 48-year-old director Gu insists on going to work every morning. As early as 10 years ago, the factory under ancient management had completely stopped production, and more than 500 employees have not received any salary so far.
10 years, the workers did not look for a way out, but looked forward to the resurrection of the factory. More than 500 people can only get two or three hundred yuan a month for living expenses and maintain the most basic livelihood. Because there is no continuation, workers can't afford to open a small grocery store at all, so they can only be nannies, cleaners, painters, or drive a tricycle called Bouncing.
10 years later, the No.7 Wool Textile Factory finally embarked on the road of joint venture again, and the partner was a private enterprise. The workers sold the useless equipment as scrap iron, and the usable equipment was equivalent to 500,000 yuan to become a shareholder in the new enterprise, which was guaranteed to account for a little more than 10%.
Today, Gu is very proud: "Now it is the capital market, and there is nothing wrong with me working for private entrepreneurs." Although he has become a "senior migrant worker", the old factory director is still very concerned about his old employees. "As long as they are willing, I absolutely welcome them."
Of course, old ideas cannot be completely broken overnight. When private enterprises contribute to the revitalization of the northeast economy, they often feel that the environment of fair competition is still far away.
Hidden in the depths of Qian Shan, Xiyang Group is the largest compound fertilizer producer in China. Zhou Furen, the general manager and chairman, is always vigilant about the merger of state-owned enterprises. In his view, private enterprises are a "living Lei Feng". When they grow up in an unfair competitive environment, they often have to bear a large sum of money for the government and take over a heavy "burden" in the process of merger.
What makes private entrepreneurs, including Zhou Furen, feel sad is that the state-owned assets of hundreds of billions of yuan in the three northeastern provinces have been stagnant for many years, just like the "popsicle" that finally melted to the point where only sticks were left unattended. When private enterprises are ready to buy state-owned enterprises, "book assets" suddenly disappear, and huge losses are shocked to the surface, which often scares entrepreneurs who want to do a big job to avoid it.
According to the person in charge of the economic and trade department in Northeast China, although some large state-owned enterprises have achieved remarkable results in extricating themselves from difficulties, the losses of local state-owned and state-controlled enterprises are still around 40%. The average debt ratio of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces exceeds 50%, and a considerable part of them are "shell enterprises" exceeding 100%, and the debt amount is increasing year by year, and the debt ratio continues to increase in some years.
Due to the heavy burden of personnel and debts, there is no market for products in loss-making enterprises, resulting in a loss account for every product produced: once the machine is turned on, coal, electricity, water and other expenses go in, but employees' wages, loan interest and after-tax profits are similar, and employees' wages must be paid at least, resulting in a decrease in net assets. In order to survive, some poor enterprises have to pay employees' wages and bank interest through loans every year, which makes the debt ratio of enterprises higher and higher, and eventually leads to the loss of state-owned assets.
To some extent, the vitality of enterprises directly affects the vitality of regional economy.
Today, under the background of the economic downturn in Northeast China, whether the once brilliant enterprises in Northeast China can regain their glory has become the lifeblood of the revitalization of the old industrial base in Northeast China.
From cooperation with private capital to financing from overseas consortia, from property right transaction and equity transfer to selling small and medium-sized enterprises, Northeast state-owned enterprises are constantly trying various new development ideas.
"We may not succeed, but let the latecomers understand why we failed." Today, state-owned enterprises in Northeast China are struggling to survive with the courage of victims and the wisdom of reformers.