Auto industry seeks to forge own brands
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-04-18 09:45

Beijing's broad Chang'an boulevard is always filled with a wide variety of cars -- BMWs, Opels and Audis -- yet very few are completely made with China's own technologies nor with a world famous brand which is created by China.

To independently develop the technologies for auto production and create world class brands of its own will be the inevitable trend of China's auto industry development, said Li Lianzhong, an official of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, at a forum on the industry here Saturday.

Though China's auto industry has undergone great changes since China adopted the opening up policy over 20 years ago, many China' s auto enterprises are still playing the role of assembly plants, Li said.

Cars with foreign brands and made in China occupy over 90 percent of China's market today.

Joint ventures were the mainstay of China's auto industry, where the technologies and the development of brands were tightly controlled by foreign shareholders, Li said.

However, in order to meet the needs of the market and take part in international competition, China must have its own automobile brands with independent property rights, said Li.

The official said that this would require mainly the independent research of auto technologies and the huge request from the domestic market.

Due to its relatively low per capita GDP, China should give priority to the innovation of economical cars, Li said, adding that cars at low prices would be welcomed in China.

Besides, because the structure of this sort of cars was relatively simple, it would neither be very difficult nor cost a huge sum of money in technological development, Li said.

The focus of China's automobile development should be small displacement and low petrol consumption, he said.

Last year China imported around 100 million tons of petroleum. Cars with big displacement could only bring more burdens to China' s energy supply.

Bai Jinfu, vice director of the research center attached to State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), said to independently develop China's auto technology never meant to carry out the research in a complacent and conservative manner, which "does not conform to the trend of globalization of economy".

Today's competition was far different from the traditional antagonism, and instead it was based on cooperation, said Bai.

He said a strategic union should be formed among China's auto enterprises or among Chinese and foreign enterprises. In this way, they would be able to supplement one another with their own advantages while sharing risks and seeking the innovation from the collaboration.

As an industry with strategic importance, the auto industry should receive more advice and favorable policies from the Chinese government, said Bai.

He hoped that the fundamental function of the market in resource distribution, in addition to a reasonable guidance from the government would boost the future innovation of China's auto industry.

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