Strategy for new-energy autos to be released in 2011
A senior official confirmed on Wednesday that China would release the national planning for four of the seven strategic emerging industries by the end of this year, and the planning for new-energy vehicles and energy saving will likely be the first announced.
The four sectors are new-energy autos, advanced equipment manufacturing, new materials and next-generation information technology, said Li Yizhong, former minister of Industry and Information Technology and current vice director of the Economic Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top advisory body.
Economic restructuring and shifting to a more environmentally-friendly, balanced growth model are more important than the pace of economic growth this year, Li said.
The advanced equipment manufacturing sector will mainly include subcategories of aviation equipment, satellites, rail transportation equipment, marine engineering equipment and smart equipment. The other three sectors are energy conservation and environmental protection, biotech and new energy.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently approved the framework for the blueprint for the development of the strategic emerging industries during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). It has also urged other relevant government departments to draft the planning and submit it to the State Council for review.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao declared recently that the target for annual growth is set at 7 percent for the 12th Five-Year Plan period — well below the target of 8 percent, which is regarded as a de facto bottom line for China’s economy. Over the years since 2010, China's GDP has been growing much faster than 8 percent most of time.
The new target of 7 percent, said Li, could make the economic restructuring more achievable. However, some local governments are still eying much higher targets, and they need to re-adjust their way of thinking, he noted.
He also warned of "severe" price pressure this year. But he is confident that the inflation is controllable. One of the important ways of easing that pressure, he pointed out, is to reduce the demand for energy and resources by making more efforts to promote energy conservation and reducing emissions.
The target of emission reduction will be specified in the 12th Five-Year Plan.
