ECONOMY|AGRICULTURE|INDUSTRY|CONSTRUCTION|INVESTMENT IN FIXED ASSETS|TRANSPORTATION|POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS|BANKING, SECURITIES AND INSURANCE|DOMESTIC TRADE|FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Summary

Industrial production registered fast growth. In 2000, the total added value of the industrial sector was 3,957 billion yuan, up 9.9 percent over the previous year. The added value of State-owned and State-holding industrial enterprises and the non-State-owned industrial enterprises with an annual sales revenue of over 5 million yuan (hereinafter referred to as industrial enterprises above designated size) was 2,368.5 billion yuan, up 11.4 percent. Of this total, the added value created by State-owned and State-holding enterprises was 1,403.2 billion yuan, up 10.1 percent, representing the highest growth since 1994. The added value of collective enterprises was 330.1 billion yuan, up 7.4 percent; that of joint-stock enterprises 495.4 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent; and enterprises invested by foreign businesses or investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan 533.3 billion yuan, up 14.6 percent. The added value of light industry was 950.6 billion yuan, up 9.5 percent, while that of heavy industry was 1,417.9 billion yuan, up 13 percent. Production and marketing situation continued to improve, with the sales rate of industrial enterprises above designated size standing at 97.71 percent, up 0.46 percentage points.

Industrial structural adjustment made significant progress. Fast growth was registered in the production of the highly value-added, high-tech products. The output of new industrial products was up 26.3 percent over the previous year. The manufacturing of electronic and communications equipment became the No.1 pillar sector of the industry. The production capacity of equipment manufacturing industry improved to some extent. About 70 percent of equipment needed by the new urban rail transport projects was purchased domestically. The environmental protection facilities continued using domestic products. The production of metal cutting machines was up 34.3 percent over the previous year; electric tools, up 37.1 percent; smelting equipment, up 9.2 percent; chemical equipment, up 4.4 percent; and air pollution control equipment, up 6.2 percent. The coal industry witnessed prominent results in efforts to close unlicensed and irrationally distributed small coal mines and reduce production. The prices of coal were stable with an upward trend. As a result, the coal industry reduced losses by a large margin in the year. Metallurgy industry made much headway in controlling the aggregate production. The output of steel grew slowly in the year and prices for steel rose with significant increase in profits. The sugar-refining industry, which had suffered from losses for four years running, turned loss into profits through optimizing the structure of planted areas, and adjusting and cutting down the outdated production capacity. A total of 150 sugar refineries were closed, with the production capacity cut down by 2.73 million tons. Through three years of adjustment, the textile industry witnessed significant increase in profits in 2000 after making up deficits in 1999.

The objectives of reforming State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and turning around loss-incurring operations within three years were basically attained. Modern corporate structure was initially established in most of the large and medium-sized SOEs. In particular, a batch of large enterprises and enterprise groups were successfully listed on the international capital market in the wake of merger and reorganization according to international conventions. The measures such as reorganization, association and merger helped promote the transfer of operational mechanism of small SOEs and improve their performance. Analyzed by region, the State-owned industry generally made up deficits or increased profits in all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government on China's mainland. Analyzed by industry, the same result was achieved by 12 of the 14 major industries under State monitoring program by the end of 2000. At the end of 1997, there were 6,599 large and medium SOEs suffering from losses but the number reduced by over 70 percent by the end of 2000.