China will invest five billion yuan (US$667 million) to
introduce advanced manufacturing technology and equipment in the
next few years to improve its self-reliance and boost its
innovative edge, a senior government official said yesterday in
Shanghai.
The investment will focus on manufacturing equipment in the
textile, machinery and home appliance sectors, said Wei Jianguo,
vice commerce minister.
"It's to improve our manufacturing industry's competitiveness
that is largely defined by the level of the manufacturing
equipment," he said at the China International Industry
Expo,?which opened in Shanghai yesterday.
In his speech, Wei said that although China is the world's third
biggest maker of machine tool by volume after Japan and Germany,
the country is still weak in high-end products like computer
numerical control tool.
The central government regards the equipment manufacturing
industry as a strategic one and is eager to accelerate its
upgrading.
China plans to develop a group of competitive large-scale
manufacturers who own intellectual property rights over their
products and technologies by 2010, according to a circular by the
State Council, China's cabinet, last year. Support will be offered
in terms of financing, for example.
Currently, more than 70 percent of the high-tech output in the
nation's manufacturing industry are made by joint ventures and
foreign companies in China.
Officials stressed yesterday that the country will enhance IPR
protection to encourage technical innovation and will "execute
tougher punishment on IPR infringement."
In the automobile industry, Wei said China is drawing up rules
governing the export of cars by cutting the number of small
exporters and will develop large-scale exporters with annual
overseas sales of 500,000 to one million units.
There are now fewer than 400 auto exporters from the peak of
1,267, which included small firms that export less than five units
a year.
(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2007)
