China will step up technological upgrading of leading enterprises in key sectors this year to improve the overall performance of industry as part of the plan to reform state-owned enterprises.
Sources with the ongoing three-day meeting on enterprise revamping said that China will focus on economic restructuring and pay more attention to increasing product variety, and improving efficiency and quality in the next few years to improve its traditional industries.
Gan Zhihe, director of the technological upgrading department of the State Economic and Trade Commission, said that the government will continue its support to power, metallurgical, petrochemical, auto and other key sectors, by earmarking 7 billion yuan out of the treasury bonds this year to allow interest discounts to enterprises engaged in renovation.
The government started to use a portion of its treasury bonds for enterprises' overhaul projects in the latter half of 1999. By 2000, a total of 19.5 billion yuan of the treasury funds had been used for 880 projects, triggering other investment of 240 billion yuan.
So far, more than 80 percent of these projects have started working and 105 of them began production, Gan said.
"More efforts will be made this year to link technological upgrading with enterprise reform," Gan stressed, adding that support will be given to enterprises' reshuffling, and reform of the internal structure.
To enhance the competitiveness of key SOEs, the government will introduce favorable policies to support pillar enterprises and large enterprise groups which have established a modern enterprise system.
Moreover, renovation of the old industrial bases and the western regions will also be an important part of this year's efforts, Gan said.
(People's Daily 04/11/2001)
