Speaking at the on-going China International Equipment Manufacturing Expo in Shenyang, northeast China, Zhu said hi-tech industries, especially the information industry, though usually regarded as "sunrise industries," actually comprise an important part of the manufacturing industry.

The application of information technology must rely on advanced manufacturing, making hi-tech industries and manufacturing industries interdependent, Zhu said.

Zhang Yaqin, president of the Microsoft Research Institute in Asia, said the manufacturing industry satisfies people's daily needs and functions as the basis for the service industry. Therefore it could not be considered a "sunset industry."

Without the development of manufacturing, other industries in China could not advance healthily and pressure on employment would become even greater, Zhang said.

The view that manufacturing was a "sunset industry" was wrong, he said.

In fact, though the world has grown increasingly information-based, developed countries still highly value progress in manufacturing.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2002)