The rapid growth of the automobile industry must be based on the overall concerted development of the city economy and the environment.
Chinese mayors and experts came to this common understanding when attending the Second China Changchun International Automobile Fair now underway in Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, which is known as the cradle of China's national automobile industry.
The number of automobiles in Beijing is expected to reach 2.5 million by the year 2008, up 56 percent over the current figure, said Beijing vice-mayor Liu Haiyan.
Over 90 percent of the capacity of Beijing's artery roads have been utilized. Yet the public transportation system plays a much smaller role compared with other similar sized cities in the world.
Automobiles are also major polluters in Beijing, he added.
Beijing plans to lead the country in imposing the stricter Euro III emission standards on motor vehicles in 2008 to control pollution from exhaust emissions, the vice-mayor announced earlier during the auto fair.
Many other Chinese cities, which face the same problems as Beijing does, are trying to ease traffic jams by accelerating road construction.
Automakers and other relevant businesses are improving their product quality in order to improve the living environment of city residents.
Changchun, for example, is introducing clean energy to public transportation, said its mayor Li Shu.
The city plans to finish LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) purification and storage projects in two to three years. At least 25 LPG and LNG filling stations will be built to meet the demands of LPG and LNG fueled vehicles.
Zhu Yanfeng, general manager of the China First Automobile Works Group Corporation (FAW), the top automobile manufacturer in the country, said that automobiles vitalize cities while cities' development pushes the fast growth of the auto industry.
"Chinese cities, on wheels of modernization, will drive into a whole new era with an unprecedented speed," he said.
The auto show was opened on August 24 and will last until August 29. More than 500 car models are on show at the 75,000- square meter exhibiting hall.
The auto fair has mirrored the bold endeavor of China' s auto industry to compete on the stage of its foreign counterparts.
(People's Daily 08/28/2001)
