臺灣東部的臺東和花蓮港兩廳，由於位置孤立、交通不便、自然條件不佳、特殊的族群分佈以及國家政策等因素使然，開發相當遲緩，邊陲性格甚為明顯。殖民地時期亦復如此。日本領臺之初，東部開發放任私人會社經營，卻成效不彰。東部產業始終停留於生產力低、現代化程度低的「後進」狀態。直至1937年，中日戰爭爆發前後，基於戰時軍需資源開發之必要，殖民政府才積極籌劃東部產業發展策略，而出現嶄新面貌。 1936年底，新成立的國策會社臺灣拓殖株式會社被賦予重任，成為總督府和地方廳東部經濟政策的實行者。1937年以降，臺拓在東臺灣事業的經營乃反映臺灣總督府對於殖民地邊陲產業的新措施。由臺拓的投資事業可見，戰時殖民政府對邊陲產業開發具有顯著的空間佈局跡象。1937年，臺灣熱帶栽培業盛極一時，由於自然和其他客觀條件之優勢，臺東廳成為熱帶拓殖企業的基地。臺拓投資事業規劃有「重臺東而輕花蓮」現象。該社所投資的臺東興發、臺灣棉花以及星規那產業等三個拓殖企業，主要在臺東廳內發展。在臺拓帶頭之下，擁有大資本的熱帶企業紛紛進入東部，而掀起此際邊區土地之開發。臺東街（臺東市）亦同時朝向新興產業都市發展。 1938年中，配合第一次生產力擴充計畫和臺灣工業化的積極展開，臺拓轉向注意花蓮港廳。花蓮港廳由於築港完成、廳內豐富而低廉的水力發電資源及獨特的地下礦藏，乃形成東部第一個臨港工業區。花蓮港廳因此成為戰時東部軍需工礦企業的基地。臺拓所投資的東邦金屬、新興窒素以及臺灣石綿等會社，幾乎是當時臺灣全島，甚至是日本帝國內獨特而新興的工礦業。戰時在花蓮港廳引入重工業的結果，促使向來以米糖農業經濟為主的東臺灣地區開始異質發展，「工業花蓮，農業臺東」的形象逐漸奠立。花蓮港街（花蓮市）亦以其傲人的工業化成果，超越臺東街，不但是新興的邊陲工業都市，也奠定東臺灣首要都市之地位。

　　　　　The frontier regions of Taidong (Taitung) and Hualian (Hwalien) in eastern Taiwan developed belatedly due to their geographical isolation, inconvenient transportation, and poor natural environment, as well as their ethnic composition and state policy. This situation continued under early Japanese colonial rule. Such developmental efforts as there were, were by private companies and did not produce significant results. The level of productivity and the degree of modernization remained low until the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. Given Japan's increasing needs for military resources, the colonial government aggressively devised new schemes for business development that transformed the landscape of eastern Taiwan. The Taiwan Development Company (TDC) was established in 1936 under a national policy to execute the economic policies of the Government-General and local authorities. Starting from 1937, the enterprises of the TDC represented the new frontier business policy in eastern Taiwan. The geographical features of the colonial government's wartime business development in eastern Taiwan can be seen through the investment projects of the TDC. In 1937, Taidong became a core area of tropical agriculture, largely due to its superior natural environment. The management policy of the TDC was to “pay more attention to Taidong than to Hualian.” Major investment companies of the TDC such as Taidong-kinfa, Taiwan Cotton, and Hoshigina all established businesses in Taidong. Following the lead of the TDC, Japanese tropical enterprises with the huge capital invested in droves to reclaim the land in eastern Taiwan. In this way Taidong grew to be a new business center. The focus of the TDC turned to Hualian in mid-1938 following this burst of productivity expansion and industrialization. With the completion of a new harbor, Hualian became a base of wartime military industry thanks to its abundant hydraulic power and mineral resources. The investment companies of the TDC—such as Dongbang Metal, Shihshing Nitrogenous Fertilizer, and Taiwan Asbestos—could be regarded as major new industrial and mining enterprises not only in Taiwan but also in the whole Japanese Empire at that time. The wartime industrialization of Hualian transformed the traditional rice-sugar agricultural economy in eastern Taiwan. Thus gradually emerged a new image of “Industrial Hualian vs. Agricultural Taidong.” And Hualian surpassed Taidong to become the new industrial center and the most important metropolis in eastern Taiwan.