China's information technology (IT) industry has become the third largest in the world and a major income earner of the economy, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) said Wednesday.
But the related companies must upgrade their technology level to avoid becoming low-end manufacturers, the industry regulator urged..
The IT industry generated revenue of 800 billion yuan (US$97 billion) in the first eight months of this year, up considerably when compared with the 1 trillion yuan (US$121 billion) it earned in the last full year, said Lou Qinjian, vice-minister of the MII.
He said the country's mobile phone and fixed-line phone customers are growing at a rate of 5 million and 3 million per month respectively.
Although China has become a major manufacturer of electronic appliances, it still lacks core technology, the official said.
"China should change its image as a low-end manufacturer by increasing the technology content and controlling the patents of high-tech products," Lou said.
To promote research achievements, the MII will begin holding an annual election of technological inventions, he said.
Six inventions in fields including mobile communication, optic fibre technology, intelligent handwriting recognition and geographic remote sensing software, have won the MII prize this year.
The MII will help these high-tech products enter the market in an effort to upgrade the competitiveness of the whole industry, Lou revealed.
Rapid high-tech development is anticipated for several years to come. Despite the downturn in the global economy, officials expect foreign investment to continue to flow to China's IT industry.
(People's Daily 09/27/2001)
