China has increased its 2003 import quota for cars and key parts by
15 percent to US$9.125 billion.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC)said
in a statement on Friday that the import quota for automobiles and
key parts would be US$9.125 billion in 2003.
The quota for motorcycles and parts would be US$437 million and
that for cranes and chassis US$138 million.
According to commitments made by the Chinese government when
entering the World Trade Organization (WTO), China will enlarge the quota
by 15 percent annually from 2002, and by the year 2005 the import
quota license for cars, motorcycles and their key parts will be
canceled.
MOFTEC statistics showed in the first half of 2002, imports of
automobiles and relevant products surged 17.9 percent to US$3.146
billion and exports soared 25.9 percent to US$1.608 billion
year-on-year.
In
2001, Chinese people bought 2 million automobiles, a rise of 16
percent which represents the fastest growth in recent years.
(Xinhua News
Agency August 17, 2002)