"The government is doing what it can to promote the car industry, which will absolutely become the pillar of Shenyang's economy in the near future," said Chen Zhenggao,mayor of the city.

Statistics show that the car industry output value of the city hit 18 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion)last year, more than three times as much as five years ago.

Its annual output of various automobiles reached 180,000 units by the end of last year,including 150,000 trucks and passenger automobiles, accounting for a quarter of the total national capacity.

"Government will offer special support to some leading plants and ensure a swift and balanced development of the car industry," said Chen.

The sales volume of the Jinbei Automobile Company attached to the No.1 Automobile Manufacturing Group now accounts for over 90 percent of the city's total car sale.

Its market share on market of passenger mini-bus has reached 16.6 percent in the country, ranking the first among all producers of the buses.

The auto-parts providers in the city achieved about 5.7 billion yuan (US$687million) last year and it is due to increased structure readjustment of the whole car industry.

Shenyang has now established cooperation with the world's top automobile manufacturers in the world, such as General Motors, Mitsubishi, and Toyota, and has been improving product quality with imported technology and machinery.

"We consider China as the market with the most strategic importance both in Asia and in the world," said John Smith, general manager of General Motors, the largest automobile producer in the world.

The auto industry has been a main concern of World Trade Organization negotiations, and China plans to restructure its 13 major automobile manufacturers into three or four groups, said officials with the State Administration of Machinery Industry.

A recent survey among around 900 families throughout the country by China Business Climate Monitoring Center shows that over 52 percent of the people surveyed wish or plan to buy a car, prefiguring a large market potential.

Sources also show that the output of domestic car producers will increase even if imported cars continue taking some of the market share.

(Eastday 05/30/2001)