(Yicai Global) Sept. 18 -- China's central government will evaluate and improve the local business environments of 21 cities spanning three provinces in the country's northeast as part of a trial to augment their regional economies, the National Development and Reform Commission's spokeswoman Meng Wei said today.

Gross domestic product in the three provinces -- Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang -- grew by 5.8 percent, 2 percent and 4.3 percent last year, all below the national average.