Premier Wen Jiabao has urged businesses to focus on upgrading and innovation to help ride through the global financial crisis.

Premier Wen Jiabao (R2) gestures during a talk with company executives at the Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation March 20, 2009. [Xinhua]

"Companies should focus on refining product structure, improving quality and upgrading technologies in the face of economic woes," Wen said during a visit to Liaoning province, a heavy-industry center, over the weekend.

Efforts should be stepped up to develop new products and foster intellectual property rights (IPRs), and the government will back companies to innovate, he said, adding that "IPRs are at the heart of economic competition".

He also stressed that the 4-trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package, announced in November to boost domestic consumption in the wake of a drop in exports, should be effectively implemented.

"Any delay would cost the country its relatively advantageous position (in fighting the international financial crisis)," Wen said.

The government has set an 8 percent economic growth target for 2009 and has taken specific measures to revive 10 major industries.

The State Council, or the Cabinet, released stimulus plans for automobile and iron and steel industries - the last of the 10 - over the weekend.

The details of the auto stimulus package are:

Goal is to produce more than 10 million vehicles this year and notch up an average annual growth of 10 percent in the three years to 2011. The country produced 9.345 million cars last year.

Form, through mergers and acquisitions, two or three auto groups with annual production and sales of 2 million units each, and four or five with 1 million units each.

Tax on purchases of low-emission passenger cars will be reduced this year.

The central government will allocate 5 billion yuan to subsidize farmers for buying small cars and trucks.

The central government will channel 10 billion yuan to support research and development.

In the iron and steel sector:

Goal is to produce 460 million tons of crude steel this year, or 8 percent less than last year, and 500 million tons annually by 2011.

Strive to eliminate obsolete iron melting and steel making capacities.

The top five iron and steel groups should contribute to more than 45 percent of the country's capacity by 2011.

Wen called on the iron and steel sector to restructure by eliminating outdated technologies and focus on high value-added products while lowering costs.

(China Daily March 23, 2009)