Industrial output in Tiexi New District in northeast China's Liaoning Province, will reach 1 trillion yuan (US$147.05 billion) by 2020, as the area becomes a modern, globally competitive industrial base, Li Jingxiang, director of the local Development & Reform Bureau said Wednesday.

According to Li, revenue from equipment manufacturing and construction will reach 500 billion yuan (US$73.52 billion) by 2020.

In recent decades, Tiexi has experienced a U-shaped pattern of industrial development, said Yu Fei, head of the Industrial Department of Liaoning Development & Reform Commission. When China began economic reforms in 1978, old state-owned industrial enterprises with out-dated equipment, backward technology and poor management, couldn't keep pace with the market economy. More than 130,000 workers were laid-off, he said.

But 2003 saw a big change when the national policy of revitalizing the old industrial base of northeast China was adopted, Li said. Tiexi Old District and the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone (SEDA) were combined to form Tiexi New District, and measures were taken to upgrade local industry.

Enterprises were moved from Tiexi Old District to SEDA where the land was much cheaper, and workers from the old industries were re-deployed. Li said nearly all previously laid-off workers have been re-employed in new industries, in the service sector, or have set up their own businesses.

In 2009, the GDP of the Tiexi New Area reached 70.5 billion yuan (US$10.37 billion), 5.2 times the 2002 figure; industrial added value increased to 49.9 billion yuan (US$7.34), up 7.4 times over 2002. Tiexi New Area has become the leading economic zone in northeast China. And thanks to its commitment to environmental protection, the district won the 2008 Model Prize for the UN Global Best Livable Area Award, Li said.

The Shenyang Machine Tool Company Ltd. (SMTCL) is an example of the successful upgrading and reform of state-owned enterprises in Tiexi. Klaus Hettrich from Germany's Schaeffler Group told China.org.cn that his company had recently signed an agreement to purchase machinery from SMTCL. Hettrich said Schaeffler continues to buy from SMTCL because of the excellent quality of its products.

A local resident, Ms Huang, told China.org.cn that the area had changed more in the past five years than in the previous several decades.