Tonghua will pay more attention to cooperating with Dandong and Dalian, two port cities in Liaoning province, said Jin Yuhui, Party chief of the city in Northeast China's Jilin province.

The Jilin provincial government issued an opinion supporting Tonghua to open up to the coastal regions to its south on March 18. Jin believes Tonghua has unique advantages in doing so.

On the north bank of the Yalu River, Tonghua has a 203.5-kilometer borderline with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and is 240 km from Dandong port. Many expressways and railways converge in Tonghua. The city has its own airport - Sanyuanpu.

Tonghua has rich natural and tourism resources, and a strong industry base in modern agriculture, food and pharmaceuticals. It is believed to have the potential to become a regional trade center in Northeast Asia.

The railway and expressway between Tonghua and Dandong started operations in September 2012. China's central government has also made the Yalu River International Economic Belt a national-level strategic zone. The construction of two high-speed railways from Jiamusi, Heilongjiang province, to Shenyang, Liaoning province; and from Siping to Baihe, both in Jilin, will start this year and next. The two high-speed railways, both going through Tonghua, are expected to start operations by 2020.

"After the two high-speed railways are finished, if the opening-up strategy is well implemented, Tonghua will become a new pathway, new platform and new window to Jilin's opening-up to the outside world," Jin said.

"The railway and expressway between Tonghua and Dandong will lead the collective rise of the cities along them, such as Baishan and Benxi, and help to form an economic belt," Jin said.

"The economic belt's influence will extend to its north in Jilin city and Yanbian in Jilin province, as well as Mudanjiang and Jixi in Heilongjiang province. The Russian and DPRK border regions will also benefit from the economic belt with Tonghua as its center," he said.

The economic belt will integrate the production factors and resources in the three provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and will make the region a community sharing the same fate, interests and opportunities, Jin said.

Chen Yaohui contributed to this story.

(China Daily 05/20/2016 page10)