China will set aside nine billion yuan (US$1.08 billion) for industrial and technical support projects this year, Xie Xuren, Deputy Director of the State Economic and Trade Commission, said Thursday.

The money will come from the proceeds of the 150 billion yuan (US$18.1 billion) treasury bonds the government plans to issue this year, Xie said at a national conference on technical transformation in this capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The fund will be used for industrial upgrading and restructuring.

The nine billion yuan would be used for industrial upgrading and restructuring, with emphasis placed on production safety, energy and water conservation, pollution control and information technology in key trades and key enterprises.

China used a total of 26.54 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion) in technical transformation in the industrial sector in the last two years. The metallurgical and textile industries were the two leading beneficiaries.

( March 29, 2002)