http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HL01Cb04.html
Auto sector to drive China's exports
BEIJING - Following on the heels of textiles, household electrical appliances, information-technology products and electromechanical products, automobiles and auto parts and components are expected to become a new engine that will push China's exports in the coming years.
The automobile industry, as an industry of high technology content, has long been dominated by European and North American producers.
In 2004, when a Chinese auto producer claimed that it would export passenger cars to the United States in batches by 2008, it was regarded as a joke by many people. However, it only took Chinese car makers two years to demonstrate that it is not an unachievable target to export cars to advanced countries.
At the recent Beijing International Auto Show, the president of Chrysler Group announced that the company will select a Chinese company as a partner to develop compact cars jointly for the North American market.
Earlier, Fiat Auto and Chery Auto had signed a memorandum according to which Chery will supply Fiat with 1.6- and 1.8-liter engines for producing Fiat cars at home and abroad. The annual engine supply is predicted to exceed 100,000 units.
This recognition from international auto giants indicates that the gap between China's auto industry and the world's leading car makers has been narrowed, and cars labeled "Made in China" have been gradually accepted by the international market.
In China, when an industry possesses a certain competitive edge, enterprises will actively explore the overseas market.
The automobile industry is not an exception.
Statistics show that China's export of auto products amounted to US$20.508 billion in the first three quarters of this year, soaring 45.37% over the previous year, and the export value was US$5 billion more than the import value.
Even the export of sedans, once the weak point of car exports, soared by 2.5 times, reaching 67,300 units in the period.
The sudden rise of the automobile industry has encouraged related governmental departments.
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) concludes that the export of consumer-electronics products has not maintained particularly rapid growth since last year, and export growth must be pulled up by some other industry.
While auto products have been among the major contributors to the world's trade volume, accounting for about 10% of the total, it will become China's key export product in the future.
Now is a critical moment for China to develop home-brand cars, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo has said repeatedly.
The MOC is actively promoting the export of autos and auto parts and components.
In August, the MOC awarded eight cities and 160 auto and auto-part and component producers the title of the State's First Batch of Auto and Auto Part and Component Export Base (or Enterprise).
The goal of China's auto industry is to make up 10% of the world's auto trade volume in about 10 years, that is, to realize an export value of more than $120 billion.
However, industry experts also point out that for Chinese auto makers, the pace of going global shouldn't be too fast because if the product quality and after-sale service can't be guaranteed, it will hurt the reputation of cars made in China.
What's more, domestic enterprises must pay great attention to research and development so as to avoid lawsuits concerning intellectual-property rights, and foreign non-tariff barriers and trade frictions about auto products need long-term concern.
(Asia Pulse/XIC)
Auto sector to drive China's exports
BEIJING - Following on the heels of textiles, household electrical appliances, information-technology products and electromechanical products, automobiles and auto parts and components are expected to become a new engine that will push China's exports in the coming years.
The automobile industry, as an industry of high technology content, has long been dominated by European and North American producers.
In 2004, when a Chinese auto producer claimed that it would export passenger cars to the United States in batches by 2008, it was regarded as a joke by many people. However, it only took Chinese car makers two years to demonstrate that it is not an unachievable target to export cars to advanced countries.
At the recent Beijing International Auto Show, the president of Chrysler Group announced that the company will select a Chinese company as a partner to develop compact cars jointly for the North American market.
Earlier, Fiat Auto and Chery Auto had signed a memorandum according to which Chery will supply Fiat with 1.6- and 1.8-liter engines for producing Fiat cars at home and abroad. The annual engine supply is predicted to exceed 100,000 units.
This recognition from international auto giants indicates that the gap between China's auto industry and the world's leading car makers has been narrowed, and cars labeled "Made in China" have been gradually accepted by the international market.
In China, when an industry possesses a certain competitive edge, enterprises will actively explore the overseas market.
The automobile industry is not an exception.
Statistics show that China's export of auto products amounted to US$20.508 billion in the first three quarters of this year, soaring 45.37% over the previous year, and the export value was US$5 billion more than the import value.
Even the export of sedans, once the weak point of car exports, soared by 2.5 times, reaching 67,300 units in the period.
The sudden rise of the automobile industry has encouraged related governmental departments.
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) concludes that the export of consumer-electronics products has not maintained particularly rapid growth since last year, and export growth must be pulled up by some other industry.
While auto products have been among the major contributors to the world's trade volume, accounting for about 10% of the total, it will become China's key export product in the future.
Now is a critical moment for China to develop home-brand cars, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo has said repeatedly.
The MOC is actively promoting the export of autos and auto parts and components.
In August, the MOC awarded eight cities and 160 auto and auto-part and component producers the title of the State's First Batch of Auto and Auto Part and Component Export Base (or Enterprise).
The goal of China's auto industry is to make up 10% of the world's auto trade volume in about 10 years, that is, to realize an export value of more than $120 billion.
However, industry experts also point out that for Chinese auto makers, the pace of going global shouldn't be too fast because if the product quality and after-sale service can't be guaranteed, it will hurt the reputation of cars made in China.
What's more, domestic enterprises must pay great attention to research and development so as to avoid lawsuits concerning intellectual-property rights, and foreign non-tariff barriers and trade frictions about auto products need long-term concern.
(Asia Pulse/XIC)