Chinese jewelry experts are calling for immediate industry regulation to break the monopoly of a few top dealers and to meet international challenges after China's entry into the World Trade Organization.
The monopoly and lack of laws and regulation have hampered the further development of the country's jewelry sector, despite it has become one of the world's largest over the past two decades, said He Naihua, chairman of the World Pearl Association.
He is known for his remarkable contribution to the booming pearl industry in China, which has overtaken Japan as the world's leading pearl producer in the past decade.
He and other Chinese experts discussed the prospects of the country's jewelry industry, at a ceremony in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to mark the opening of the OrientalJewelry Museum.
"China should be and must become a world jewelry giant," He stressed.
Cui Zhong, a geologist and stone expert from Beijing, pointed out that the monopoly had resulted in poor quality and high prices, denying consumers access to fairly-priced products.
"If this monopoly is not broken as soon as possible, it will bevery easy for overseas dealers to increase their market share in China," he noted.
Liu Zhiqiang, curator of the museum and president of the Nanjing Jewelry College, said his museum aimed to create greater awareness and teach basic knowledge of jewelry to consumers.
"The development of China's jewelry industry relies on the awareness of jewelry among the public," Liu said.
The college has trained many jewelry connoisseurs, including some who have obtained international qualifications.
(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2002)
