The Chinese government has called for a private bank to be established in the Northeast as part of a new plan to support economic growth in the region. Beijing’s efforts to “rejuvenate” the Northeast began in 2003 as the central government tried to bring stability to an old industrial region hit by layoffs and strikes. It has since spent billions of yuan to regenerate shantytowns, build new transportation infrastructure and encourage new high-tech industries in the three provinces, but critics have said the strategy has done little to ease the region’s dependency on the state. The State Council said local governments would be responsible for drawing up new policies to develop the private economy in the region, which has long been dominated by powerful state-owned enterprises (SOEs). At least one new regional bank would be established by the end of June next year, and a “financing guarantee system” would also be set up to support small to medium-sized enterprises. Beijing will also look into developing new industries in resource-depleted cities in the Northeast to create jobs, and will accelerate construction of infrastructure projects.