On the 18th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a press conference on the development of the industrial communication industry in 2013. Xiao Chunquan, director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in response to reporters’ questions that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to scientifically revise the development policy of the automobile industry and promote the expansion and opening up of the automobile industry.
On the issue of the proportion of shares of joint ventures in the automotive field, Xiao Chunquan said that the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward new requirements and made new arrangements for further opening up. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as the competent department, will work with relevant departments to carefully study and implement.
According to reports, when China joined the World Trade Organization, it required that the proportion of foreign shares in automobile joint ventures should not exceed 50%. Nowadays, with the rapid development of China’s market economy, the call for lifting the shackles of foreign investment is becoming stronger and stronger.
Xiao Chunquan said that the 50 percent stipulation is in line with the WTO accession commitment, and has played a great role in strengthening joint ventures and cooperation between China and international automobile manufacturers, introducing advanced technologies and products, and promoting the development of domestic industries. “Last year, for example, we produced and sold more than 21 million vehicles, achieving the world’s first place for five consecutive years.”
However, Xiao Chunquan also said that at present, the current structure of China’s automobile industry is not reasonable enough, the technical level is not high, and the independent research and development ability is relatively weak, these problems are still relatively prominent, and adjusting and optimizing the structure of the industry is still a very urgent task for China’s automobile industry.
Xiao Chunquan pointed out that “in this regard, it is also necessary to strengthen cooperation and strengthen exchanges with some large foreign automobile enterprises.” ”
In fact, Chinese auto companies are also confident in opening up and participating in competition. Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, has publicly stated that the joint venture equity ratio can be completely liberalized.
Geely staff said that Geely’s support for opening up is based on three considerations: First, from the century-old development experience of the mature automobile markets of the United States, Japan, Europe and South Korea, the reason why its automobile industry can become several backbones in the global market is due to the fact that there is no restriction on local competition. On the other hand, some relatively closed markets, such as Malaysia, have not developed their local automotive industry as well as they should. Second, a closed environment may be able to “protect” existing competitors in the short term, but in the long run, only full competition can bring vitality to the industry and enterprises can further develop. Third, from the perspective of the overall situation, opening up can give play to the leading force of participants in the market economy, which is based on the consideration of the interests of the state and consumers.