China's Auto Industry Sees Better Trend of Developmen
Low-chassis city passenger buses will be the focus for development. After China's entry into the WTO, more complete vehicle manufacturers will turn towards producing special purpose vehicles. Output of motor cycles will top 11 million and farm-use vehicles will be reduced but will be upgraded in line with environmental protection and consumer demand. Four-wheel farm-use vehicles will see a marked increase in output.
With it's entry into the WTO, China's economy will merge into the tide of globalisation. Faced with this rare opportunity and challenge China's car industry will make re-adjustments focussing on development, the mode of management, product mix and the consumption environment in the following seven areas.
Under the l0th Five Year Plan, the car industry will focus on the development of safe and energy efficient economic-type sedans, heavy lorries, passenger buses and special use car chassis, suitable for expressways. It will also concentrate on improving the standard of key parts and accessories.
Stepping up the restructuring and re-organisation for higher centralised production.
To dovetail the mode of management with international convention. The policy for the car industry is to be revised and perfected, catalogue management to be reformed and a product acknowledgement system to be gradually put into practice.
Competition between enterprises will be for quality. Management reform, especially technological innovation, will become the main feature in market competition.
The common practice of global purchase and modular supply will urge the domestic industry to produce auto parts and accessories. Producers are encouraged to co-operate with strong foreign partners so as to cater for both the domestic and world market, to improve the ability and to develop into a scale economy.
To improve the consumption environment.
Cargo transportation worldwide is now mainly by road and lorries. Domestic medium-sized vehicles can basically meet world market demand and are advantageous in price. According to world market demand, China's export of heavy and medium-sized lorries is expected to increase in 2000, with complete vehicles being dominant. Import is expected to fall, sedans in particular, which are estimated to drop by l0%-l5%, following China's entry into the WTO, and with the flow of reasonably-priced new-type domestically prouced vehicles onto the market.
CHINA: Economic and Auto Industry News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHINA AND WTO MEMBERSHIP
China's entry into the World Trade Organization will offer tremendous opportunities for U.S. companies, but there will be some bumps in the road.
"The pace of change in China is stunning. It's absoultely remarkable, but this fast pace change causes other challenges to be met," said Daniel H. Rosen, senior advisor for U. S. international economic policy.
"We have to abandon old style management and establish more laws and regulations and enforce them, " said Jin Ligang, China's commercial consul in New York.
The best opportunities for U.S. companies will be in distribution. In the past, foreign companies with joint ventures have faced sever restrictions if they wanted to import goods and sell them in China. They would have to export a certain percentage of the goods they produced in China and sell a certain percentage of goods in China [next page]