From Jan. 1, 2005, China will cancel its auto import quota, which stands at 10.49 billion US dollars this year, said Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo Friday.

According to promises upon China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China should end the period for protection of the domestic car industry by the end of 2004, and China's tariff rate for imported car units should drop to 25 percent by July 1, 2006, said Wei.

Since China's WTO accession in late 2001, China has been decreasing its car import tariff rate remarkably, he noted, and managing its import quota orderly and transparently.

In 2003, China imported cars and related products worth 14.45 billion US dollars, up 84 percent year on year, customs figures showed. China has become the fourth auto manufacturing country in the world after the United States, Japan and Germany.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2004)