BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Light industry: Consumption underestimated
(Chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-06-06 14:39

China's National Bureau of Statistics news spokesman Yao Jingyuan suggested on June 3 that in the past, Chinese people's consumption ability and pursuit for happiness were underestimated. During the 11th "Five-year Plan" period (2006-2010), industries that adapt to the consumption structure revaluation will become new investment hotspots.

Yao gave the following examples. In 1989, there were a total of 10,000 cell phone users in China and the figure was expected to reach 800,000 by 2000. It turned out that the number of mobile phones in China soared to over 87 million in 2000, 100 folds higher than expected. In 2005, there were more than 390 million cell phones in China, which was far beyond the estimate of the government that year.

According to Yao, at present China has 39 industrial categories. The top one is neither steel nor auto, but the electronic communication device manufacturing industry with cell phone as the core. 


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