Printing industry developing rapidly
(Asia Pusle)
Updated: 2005-12-16 15:19

The industrial output value reached 280 billion yuan (US$34.7 billion) in 2004, 2 per cent of GDP, including 16.9 billion yuan generated from before-printing, 70.7 billion yuan from book and magazine printing, 98.1 billion yuan from packaging printing, 45.9 billion yuan from newspaper printing and 22 billion yuan from out processing.

The adjustment of industrial structure and products mix has stepped up, low-level repetition construction and blind expansion have been prevented, some printing enterprise groups with advanced equipment, high quality and strong competitiveness have formed.

A new round of technical innovation taking digital technology as main body has started and the plate making technology directly made by computer is spreading gradually.

The printing sector is speeding up cooperation with foreign businesses and more than 3,000 solely foreign funded and joint ventures have been set up.

China's printing equipment and printing apparatus has experienced the stages from importing technology, absorbing to innovating since 1980s. From the beginning of the 1990s, China's printing enterprises have entered into the period of setting up joint venture, integrating enterprises and reorganizing capital to speed up China's printing equipment and apparatus upgrading. To date China's printing equipment manufacturing enterprises number 400 with output value hitting 9.8 billion yuan.

Although China's printing equipment and apparatus has developed rapidly, the high-grade products are also dependant on imports. China imported US$1.74 billion worth of printing equipment in 2004 and only exported US$274 million worth.

It is predicted that China's printing and equipment industrial output value will grow 8 per cent annually in the 2006-2010 period reaching 440 billion yuan in 2010.