Photo taken on Oct. 9, 2011 shows a worker working in the assembly line of a FAW-Volkswagen plant in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. When China's FAW (First Auto Works) Group made China's first automobile in 1956, Chinese people could probably hardly image that they could own their own cars within a few decades. However In 2009, China overtook the United States as the world's largest auto market after vehicle sales hit 13.6 million units that year. Since China joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) in 2001, its auto industry has experienced a major turning point and a fast growth. As abided by the WTO rule, China's tariff on imported cars dropped from some 80 percent in 2001 to an average of 13.4 percent currently. Such a move enabled an open and flourishing market in China. Accordingly decreasing car prices made more and more ordinary Chinese people able to afford their private cars and enjoy a lifestyle that once they could only image in western movies or advertisement. Among the cars sold, Chinese brands and its joint-ventures become a popular choice for its relatively higher cost performance. As stimulated by a booming demand, China's auto production saw a dramatic rise, from 2.07 million units in 2002 to 18 million units in 2010, a nine-time growth in the past nine years. In an open and high competitive market, some China's car makers realized the technological innovation could win them an edge in new eras. For example China FAW Group, one of the country's largest automakers, debuted two new hybrid bus models at the eighth China Automobile Fair currently held in Changchun this July. Also China's merging car makers are active to explore overseas markets as they try to dance with tide. On Oct. 8, 2011, China's JAC Motors announced it will invest 500 million U.S. dollars in its first overseas plant, which will be located in Brazil's northern state of Bahia. Despite being a pillar industry within 10 years' development, the country's auto sector still faces a series of problems, especially the technological gap with other leading auto-manufacturing countries, said Zhang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of China Machinery Industry Federation. "The auto industry never lacks market and capital. What it urgently needs is technology, but the key to acquire the technology is the talent that masters the technology," Zhang said. The access to WTO has made China a big auto manufacturer. But for China's auto industry to become a strong one, it has a long way to go to break the talent shortage bottleneck for further technological innovation. (Xinhua/Wang Haofei)
