The Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform  Commission (NDRC) jointly held a national work conference focusing on automotive exports in Beijing on September 21, 2007.

At the conference, Minister Bo Xilai stated that China has become the world's second largest consumer of automobiles and the third largest car producer. Moreover, China has the potential to become the largest automobile market in the world. Car exports have grown markedly. To be precise, from January to July, China's automobiles exports reached 294,000, an increase of 70.3 percent. By the end of the year the number is expected to exceed 500,000. Auto parts exports alone reached US$8.85 billion, an increase of 32.4 percent.

Minister Bo Xilai also pointed out that currently China's automobile industry is facing important development opportunities. To realize and maintain this healthy trend is not only necessary but also achievable in the near future.

Moreover, as far as China's automobile industry is concerned, the Ministry of Commerce will cooperate with relevant departments and legislate supportive policies to sustain car export zones for the production of export commodities; to raise the market access threshold; to regulate automobiles export; to support Chinese designed and manufactured cars to compete in the international marketplace. Additionally, the Ministry of Commerce wishes to encourage enterprises via mergers and acquisitions to upgrade their technology, research and development capability and to expand international cooperation and information exchanges.

Additionally Zhang Guobao, vice-director of the NDRC, noted that since 2002, the automobile output has increased about 45.8 percent annually. He projected that by the end of this year the numbers could easily reach 8.5 million.

By the end of 2006 China's automobile industry occupied 3.7 percent of the GDP. One sixth of China's industrial workers are auto-related employees.

The government wants to diversify the volume and quality of all domestic cars produced for the export market and to enhance competitiveness in international market.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Nina, September 24, 2007)