Chinese top statistician Li Deshui has appealed for special attention to probable monopoly as multinational companies are keen to purchase Chinese counterparts.

Li, director of National Bureau of Statistics, said that some foreign corporations are restructuring their investment in China in an effort to play a dominant role in a certain sector.

The official made the remarks on the sideline of the annual session of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body. Li is a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

Other CPPCC members echoes Li's view, saying that a certain foreign corporation could stealthily establish a monopoly position in the Chinese market in this way.

The Renminbi savings of Chinese residents reached 14.8 trillion yuan (US$1.75 trillion) at the end of January this year. The country's foreign exchange reserves rank second in the world, said Xie Zhaohua, a CPPCC member.

Supportive policies should be given to homegrown enterprises to help them upgrade technologies, speed up innovations, catch up with multinational companies, and turn out better products, he said.

Official statistics show that Kodak has taken half of China's market share in sensitive materials; Fujifilm, 25 percent; Microsoft, 95 percent; and Cisco, two thirds in their respective fields.

"We have plenty of capital at home, but why some local governments prefer giving foreign investment preferential policies in terms of taxation, land use and loan?" Xie asked.

"We welcome multinational companies to set up technological research centers in China, but they are not allowed to pursue technological monopoly," Xie said.

CPPCC National Committee member Tang Zhuhua also said great efforts should be made to protect homegrown brands and fixed assets.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2006)