(Yicai) Feb. 26 -- China's northeastern Liaoning and Jilin provinces reported their first net population inflow in more than a decade last year, according to official data.

Liaoning logged a net population inflow of 86,000 people last year, reversing an 11-year net population outflow and increasing its urban population by 100,000 people to 30.7 million from a year before, according to data from the province's bureau of statistics. Liaoning's urbanization rate rose 0.5 percentage point to 73.5 percent in the period.

Jilin reported a net population inflow of 43,400 people in 2023, ending a net outflow that lasted 13 years, according to the province's bureau of statistics. Jilin's general population fell by 82,800 to 23.4 million last year from the previous one, mainly due to a natural population decline of 126,200 people. However, its urbanization rate jumped 1 percentage point to 64.7 percent.

One of the main reasons behind these net population inflows is a series of talent-centered policies Liaoning and Jilin implemented last year.

With its talent revitalization scheme, Liaoning attracted 401,000 college graduates to work or start a business in the province last year, according to the data. Shenyang and Dalian were Liaoning's most attractive cities for talents, as their population increased by 65,000 people to 16.7 million, accounting for 40 percent of the province's total.

Moreover, Liaoning's gross regional product rose 5.3 percent last year from the previous one, outpacing the average among China's 31 provincial-level regions for the first time in 10 years.

China's three northeastern provinces -- Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning -- were called China's Rust Belt. According to the latest population census, their population declined by about 11 million people between 2010 and 2020, achieving a net population outflow of about 3.5 million people.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione