Harbin has thrown its weight behind the State Council’s call for supply-side structural reforms, as the city in Northeast China set out a plan to promote product quality, efficiency and sustainable development in the region.

Key proposals in the plan include deepening reforms to State-owned enterprises, accelerating the development of the private sector and creating more market entities through “mass entrepreneurship and innovation”.

The document also encourages people from across Harbin to start their own businesses, and urges tech workers to make full use of the region’s business incubators and funding options to help further integrate the industrial and service sectors.

Colleges are called on to build innovation parks and makerspaces to support young entrepreneurs, while the region’s farmers are encouraged to experiment with planting, breeding and processing to increase revenues.

The city government will also draw up a “Harbin 2020” action plan detailing what measures it will take to reform agriculture, advanced manufacturing, cross-regional e-commerce and medicine in the region and create an Internet Plus economy.

Another key part of the plan calls for more efforts to eliminate outdated production capacity, which will help reduce industrial overcapacity and pollution. So-called “zombie” companies will be closed down, and measures will be taken to ensure staff are compensated and re-trained.

The plan also calls for action to be taken to prevent local debt risks and reduce enterprise costs.