Central Planning Got the Northeast in Trouble – and Won't Save It

The multiple explosions at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin not only killed 165 people, but also exposed the economic crisis afflicting nearby northeastern China. As growth slows, and analysts both at home and abroad speculate as to whether the economy is going to suffer a "hard landing," there is little to debate over where the three northeastern provinces stand ahead of another cold winter. In the first half of the year, the provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin, were first, third and fourth worst performing economies in the country, respectively. Some have described the region's economy as "falling off a cliff."