2nd Ld: China Vows to Revive Machine Manufacturing Sector

The Chinese government is about to begin plans to strengthen its machine manufacturing industry. These plans calls for the establishment of factories that will be able to manufacture machine components to help meet the country’s needs in energy, transportation, raw materials, and defense sectors. There are 16 specific categories which China is interested in growing to help meet that goal. The categories include advanced power-generation, petro-chemical equipment, coal mining machinery, large shipping vessels, high-speed trains, precise machine tools, and equipment for integrated circuitry. In order to encourage growth in these areas, the government will alter some of its policies and regulations which will support research and development while also encourage a better market and fair competition. Tariffs will be imposed for importing certain machine components and state projects would be encouraged to purchase and use China-made equipment. By supporting independent development of equipment within these categories, the country will eventually become more self-sufficient with respect to machine design and manufacturing.