The application of information technology to China's manufacturing rose 18 percent in 2002, according to a survey released in Beijing Wednesday.

The National Information Evaluation Center (NIEC) released the report after completing a statistical assessment of how China's manufacturing applied information technology.

It was the first time the Chinese government has undertaken a major project on the application of information technology and made public the result.

The survey showed that the use of information technology in manufacturing rose from an index level of 100 in 2001 to 118.21 in2002.

More enterprises began to designate specific personnel in charge of the application of information technology while the average investment each enterprise made in this respect increased to 2.194million yuan (US$265,000) in 2002 from 1,779 million yuan (US$215,000) in 2001.

The index was set up by NIEC to specifically assess the application of information technology to China's manufacturing.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2003)