Beijing's industry evolved in a typical manner for communist and socialist cities. Under the rule of Mao, Beijing was developed as a city geared for production, with an extremely heavy industrial base. Diversification was not included among Mao's goals for the city's industry. Present-day economic planners are attempting to change this arrangement to some degree.
China is divided into several industrial regions for purposes of planning. Beijing is part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan industrial region. Beijing is heavily involved in the processing of coal, iron, and petroleum. It also has a significant number of woolen textile mills. Additionally, Beijing is home to a plentiful amount of engineers. Skilled workers in general, however, are in short supply in Beijing. On the other hand, with rapid and numerous in- migration, cheap unskilled labor is overabundant.
These unskilled workers seem to be a thorn in the foot of Beijing industry. At the same time the Chinese government is attempting to develop more high-technology industries in the country and specifically in Beijing, it is being bombarded with largely uneducated peasant farmers from the countryside, who come to the city looking for a better life. More often than not, they are bitterly disappointed with what they find, as the Beijing industrial system is simply not capable of effectively and efficiently handling such a large influx of people.
As the economy has been freed up and private enterprise is once again allowed, Beijing's industries have become somewhat more diversified. The government has recently expressed plans to further decentralize, in part by moving various industries to the country. (Currently, there is a rural loop around the city which houses much industry and provides many of the goods for the city's markets.) Likewise, as alluded to above, there have been proposals to further diversify the industrial regions. Beijing, as part of the North China Coastal plain, is being targeted for introduction of fishing, cotton, and high-technology industries.