The volume of china's color TV exports contracted sharply in the
first nine months of 2007, reflecting weak technical and design
capabilities, according to the latest customs report.
Exports in the January-September period fell 46.1 percent
year-on-year to 32.05 million sets. These exports were valued at
5.79 billion U.S. dollars, down 3.4 percent from the same period
last year.
Liquid crystal display (LCD) TV sets and plasma screen sets have
been replacing traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) sets in the
United States and the European Union, the biggest overseas markets
for Chinese-made TV sets, said the report.
But China produces few LCD sets or plasma screens, with domestic
manufacturers relying on imports for more than 90 percent of these
items, which is a disadvantage in international competition.
"Many domestic TV makers are still assemblers, without much say
in the display panels and modules, which are imported and
constitute 70 percent to 80 percent of the production cost per
set," said industry observer Liu Buchen, chief adviser with Kuafo
Consulting.
The report also ascribed the decline in exports to a fee related
to patent and technology issues in the United States. Since March,
a fee of 15 to 30 U.S. dollars has been levied on each color TV set
shipped to the United States.
As a result of the pending switch to digital TV in the United
States, all sets sold from March 1 have had to meet the technical
requirements of the U.S. Advanced Television Systems Committee, or
ATSC, standard.
Many companies that hold patents for this standard, including
Sony, Thomson and Tri-Vision, have charged Chinese producers for
every set sold in the United States, according to the China Chamber
of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic
Products.
"The fees are a heavy burden for China's TV industry as its
profit margin is very thin," said Bai Weimin, an official with the
Ministry of Information.
Chinese manufacturers price CRT sets at 61 U.S. dollars on
average and LCD TVs at 320 U.S. dollars. Gross profits are only 10
percent of the prices and the patent fee would wipe out the
profits, he said. "As a result, some firms may have to retreat from
the U.S. market."
The EU and Japan may also impose a similar patent fee on Chinese
TV makers, said the report.
Domestic TV makers should develop and share proprietary core
technology to improve the capability of the whole industry, it
said. They could also jointly negotiate digital TV patent fees with
foreign patent holders.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2007)
