China will establish 30 high-tech industrial bases, according to a circular?from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Six bases, known as all-rounders, in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Xi'an, as well as the Zhuzhou and Xiangtan regions in Hunan Province, will focus on information, biological technology, civil aviation, the astronautical sector, new materials and new energy.

Among the other 24 industrial bases, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, Chengdu, Sichuan Province and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, were also named on the list.

The NDRC requires governments of all-levels to give policy support to ensure the establishment and development of these high-tech bases.

High-tech bases have played an important role in transforming the economic growth mode and upgrading industrial structure.

Last year, industrial output of the high-tech sector reached 1.91 trillion yuan (269 billion U.S. dollars), 7.8 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, new high-tech exports hit 347.8 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the nation's total exports.

Industrial output and exports have risen at an average annual rate of 21.5 percent and 37.7 percent, respectively, during the past seven years through 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2008)