NE China's Jilin achieves remarkable progress in high-quality development

Over the past five years, northeast China's Jilin Province has made remarkable achievements in pursuing high-quality development, injecting strong momentum into its progress.

Inside Chinese automaker FAW Hongqi Fanrong plant, the 739 robots on the welding production line are 100 percent automated, while highly flexible production lines seamlessly accommodate mixed-model assembly to meet diverse powertrain requirements. Every 54 seconds, a completed Hongqi vehicle rolls off the assembly line, adding up to about 1,000 cars on average per day.

Photo shows the assembly line at the final assembly workshop of FAW Hongqi Fanrong plant in northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

"The transformation here has been remarkable since the Fanrong plant officially opened in 2021," said Zhang Guolong, senior director of general assembly technology at FAW's engineering and technology department.

About five years ago, imported air springs for a single vehicle cost around 15,000 yuan ($2,103.55). After roughly two years of intensive technical development by FAW's team, domestically produced air springs broke the foreign monopoly and reduced the air spring cost per vehicle to approximately 2,000 yuan.

FAW has achieved nearly complete localization of core systems and components for new energy vehicles, including electric drive systems, air springs, shock absorbers, and steer-by-wire systems, according to an executive of the company. Mastering key core technologies and accelerating high-level technological self-reliance remains the enterprise's primary objective.

A Hongqi Tiannian flying car is displayed at the FAW achievement exhibition in northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

FAW's evolution exemplifies Jilin's broader commitment to upgrading traditional industries and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces.

Manufacturing strength continues to grow across the province. In the first half of this year, the added value of Jilin's manufacturing sector rose 8.5 percent year on year, and all eight key industrial sectors achieved positive growth.

"Expanding industrial scale, accelerating innovation breakthroughs, and continuously expanding application scenarios have significantly enhanced the comprehensive competitiveness of our major technical equipment industry," said Gong Ke, director of the major technical equipment division at the Jilin Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

A hydrogen-powered tourism tram manufactured by CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. runs in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, May 29, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

In terms of agriculture, the 1-million-mu (about 66,666.7 hectares) base for green corn raw material standardization production in Lishu county, Siping city, is planted using corn straw full-coverage and no-tillage cultivation technologies, known as the "Lishu model". The technologies guarantee both crop yields and soil protection, according to Wang Guiman, director of the county's agricultural technology promotion center.

Since 2021, the county has built a comprehensive promotion system of the "Lishu model" centered on farmers' cooperatives. The model continues to upgrade through precise fertilization and intelligent monitoring technologies, allowing farmers to witness tangible productivity gains firsthand.

Photo shows the core area of the 1-million-mu (about 66,666.7 hectares) base for green corn raw material standardization production in Lishu county, Siping city, northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

By 2024, the "Lishu model" covered 6.23 million mu in Siping city, achieving complete coverage in suitable areas and extending to over 100 million mu in northeast China and part of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Over the past five years, Jilin has explored ways to transform abundant wind and solar resources in its western regions into new drivers of high-quality development.

Lush rice paddies after soil improvement stand in stark contrast to unimproved saline-alkali land in Lesheng township, Da'an city, northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

The Da'an wind and solar green hydrogen synthesis ammonia integration demonstration project, the world's largest single-unit green synthetic ammonia production project operated by Da'an Jidian Green Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd., officially went into operation in Da'an city on July 26. The project established four global records in green ammonia scale, mixed hydrogen production scale, DC microgrid technology, and solid-state hydrogen storage.

Wind and solar power installations exceeded 23 million kilowatts in the first half of this year. Combined with hydroelectric, biomass, and waste-to-energy facilities, the installed capacity of renewable energy now far surpasses that of coal-fired power in the province.

The Da'an wind and solar green hydrogen synthesis ammonia integration demonstration project commences operations in northeast China's Jilin Province, July 26, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

The second half of this year will see the anticipated launch of China General Nuclear Power Group's 100-megawatt solar power project in Jilin, utilizing an innovative "solar thermal plus new energy" model that fills a gap in northeast China's solar thermal power generation industry.

Data shows Jilin Province ranks among the top in China in the number and capacity of green synthetic ammonia, green methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel projects under construction, planned or under development.

Photo shows the central control room of the Da'an wind and solar green hydrogen synthesis ammonia integration demonstration project in northeast China's Jilin Province. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)

Jilin will accelerate the integrated development and cluster deployment of its new energy industry, focusing on high-quality development, high-level consumption, and high-value transformation of new energy resources to build a nationally significant highland for the green energy industry, said Zhao Yanfeng, director of the Energy Administration of Jilin Province.

Construction is in full swing on the 100 MW solar thermal unit of a 1.4 GW outgoing direct current (DC) power transmission project in northeast China's Jilin Province, July 26, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Li Yang)