FEATURE-China's frosty northeast finally heating up?

(Repeats story first issued at 0000 GMT)

By Alison Leung

DALIAN, China, April 1 (Reuters) - The chilly streets of Dalian lie deathly quiet most winter nights but strollers in this northeastern Chinese city sometimes spot a light burning in the offices of mayor Xia Deren.

"I was a little uncertain in 2003, but now I'm more confident," a tired-looking Xia, who has spent the past five years struggling to inject economic life into his city, said at his offices in Liaoning province's richest city.

"We're embarking on a new era, and the pressures remain enormous," the 52-year old cadre told Reuters late one February evening before heading off to entertain official visitors.

China's northeast, once the crown jewel of a centrally planned economy but now its rust belt, fell on hard times at the turn of the century as its monolithic state companies adapted slowly to a rapidly opening economy.

Now, years of painful reforms and an industrial overhaul have allowed the region to regain some of its former glory.

Unemployment has dipped to manageable levels. State firms like Bank of Dalian pursue stock listings. The region is vying with Shanghai to become a global shipbuilding nexus, led by the country's largest shipyard, Dalian Shipbuilding. [ID:nHKG88688]

Not a moment too soon. In 2003, economists and Beijing cadres warned the region might be headed for a meltdown. Party leaders feared job losses could trigger social unrest, threatening a decade of breakneck growth and even the Chinese state itself.