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.
