China has become one of the largest furniture manufacturers and exporters in the world after 20 years of development, according to a senior official with China National Furniture Association.
Jia Qingwen, president of the association, said the country's furniture industry has been growing at an average annual rate of 15 percent in the past decades.
Statistics suggest that the output value by the industry has grown from US$156 million (1.3 billion yuan) in 1978 to US$14.5 billion (120 billion yuan) in 2000.
The industry earned US$3.6 billion from exports in 2000.
The number of furniture companies has grown from 2,000 in 1978 to more than 50,000 at the end of 2000, Jia said.
"The country is expected to produce US$24 billion (200 billion yuan) worth of furniture a year by 2010," he said.
Furniture exports are expected to hit US$5 billion by then as well.
According to Cao Yingchao, another official with the association, the southern province of Guangdong accounted for 53 percent of the nation's total export last year, or US$1.83 billion.
The United States, which imported US$1.88 billion worth of furniture made in China last year or 52.7 percent of China's total furniture exports, is the largest importer of furniture made in China, Cao said.
"China has become strong enough in the international furniture trade to compete with market giants like Italy and the United States," he said.
However, some experts worried that China's furniture industry may face hard times as China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) nears.
"We should not be overoptimistic about the overall situation of the industry, as a majority of China's furniture companies are of the medium and small size," an expert surnamed Hu with the State Information Center said.
On the other hand, China's huge market potential has attracted international furniture makers, he said.
Five years from the country's accession to the WTO, the tariff imposed on furniture imports will drop to zero from the present 22 percent.
"Some Chinese furniture companies may go bankrupt," he said.
According to Hu, some Chinese firms manufacture low-quality furniture that is poorly designed.
He said Chinese firms should pay more attention to product improvements and try to establish brand loyalty among their customers.
(China Daily 10/09/2001)
