Recent reports have revealed that multiple illegal projects are under construction in the three northeastern provinces, all in the cement sector of the building materials industry. The specific illegal projects are: two in Jilin Province—one is Guangli Special Cement Co., Ltd.'s 4,000 t/d clinker production line under construction, and the other is Dongsheng Cement Company's 4,000 t/d cement clinker expansion project in Jiangyuan District, Baishan City, Jilin Province, also under construction. Neither project has an environmental impact assessment from the Jilin Provincial Department of Environmental Protection nor approval documents from the National Development and Reform Commission. One in Liaoning Province: the second 4,000 t/d clinker line of Liaoyang Tianrui Cement Co., Ltd., which has neither the approval document from the Liaoning Provincial Development and Reform Commission nor the approval from the National Development and Reform Commission. One in Heilongjiang Province: the Jidong Cement 'giant' project, which has also not obtained formal approval from the National Development and Reform Commission. Currently, the project is facing resistance due to joint opposition from local peers in the same industry.

 　According to the 2009 State Council 'Notice on Several Opinions on Suppressing Overcapacity and Redundant Construction in Some Industries and Guiding the Healthy Development of Industries' (hereinafter referred to as 'Document No. 38'), cement projects that had not started construction before September 30, 2009, were to be suspended; projects truly needed would be organized by the National Development and Reform Commission for demonstration and approval. On May 10, 2013, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the 'Notice on Resolutely Curbing Blind Expansion of Industries with Overcapacity', requiring resolute curbing of blind expansion in overcapacity industries such as cement. For illegal projects that started construction without approval, were approved beyond authority, or were built while being approved, those not yet started must not start, and those under construction must stop.

Despite clear national regulations, the three northeastern provinces are still developing. Is it because the region lacks cement production capacity? That is not the case. Under the national premise of overcapacity, Liaoning is one of the provinces with the most severe cement overcapacity and one of the regions with the lowest cement prices in recent years, leaving cement enterprises struggling. Jilin's cement market is also oversupplied. Heilongjiang is even more immediate: when the Jidong Cement 'giant' project, poised for action, entered Yuquan in Acheng, it immediately alarmed local cement peers and the national industry association, prompting 23 local cement enterprises to jointly petition relevant departments multiple times to block its construction. The China Building Materials Federation also sent the relevant information to the Heilongjiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, recommending blocking the project. Clearly, in terms of regional structure, the cement industry in the three northeastern provinces is also saturated.

What is puzzling is that the cement industry is a building material sector with overcapacity strictly restricted by the state. Despite repeated policy directives, why can illegal projects in the three northeastern provinces proceed as they please? What is the reason?

The fundamental reason for this phenomenon lies with the introduced enterprises and local governments. Everyone knows that without local government consent or permission, no enterprise can enter the local market for normal construction and operation. The fact that these illegal projects in the three northeastern provinces can proceed clearly shows they have been approved by local governments. For example, the Guangli Special Cement project in Jilin: when the Siping City 'five leading bodies' inspected project construction, they visited Guangli Special Cement Co., Ltd. to learn about project progress. Such a project with major illegal suspicions received such attention from local government departments. Thus, the entry of illegal projects into a locality is mainly the result of strong support and protection by local governments.

At this point, the reporter cannot help but ask: Are local government departments unaware of national policies to curb overcapacity in overcapacity industries? No, local governments have their own calculations. At least several points: First, it demonstrates the effectiveness of government investment promotion, a 'highlight' in showcasing political achievements; second, introducing outside enterprises can drive related industries and increase employment, especially boosting GDP—a sign of action; third, regardless of what enterprise is introduced, it benefits the public and the people, and especially private interests—today no enterprise enters a local market for nothing. All these actually test the authority of the state's unified power and the policies, regulations, and law enforcement of relevant departments.

Editor: Wu Yue