Training of professionals, management and information technology industrialization will be the priorities of China's software development, says Chen Chong, chairman of the China Software Association.

Chen told the recent 2003 Forum of Software Industry Presidents that China's software industries should involve themselves more in international competition, develop market share and adopt advanced management expertise.

China's software industry was booming, said Chen, and the number of software enterprises had increased from 4,000 in 2001 to 8,000, of which 23 percent enjoyed annual output values of over 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million).

The gross output value of China's software industry accounted for 2 percent of that of the world, almost the same as that of India.

However, Chen said, India's software export turnover was dozens of times greater than China's. The success of India's software industry was attributed to its close links to the international market and the introduction of modern methods of operation.

China should reform the human resources system of the software industry, said Chen. "Every year there are tens of thousands of college graduates majoring in software and we should provide more opportunities for them."

The operations of many domestic software enterprises had to be improved, he said, otherwise they would find it impossible to cooperate with international software giants.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2003)