China will actively promote auto imports over the next five years to help the country restructure and upgrade its auto industry, a Chinese official from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Sunday.
Qian Jingfen, an official in charge of imports at the MOC's Industrial Department, told an auto imports forum in Beijing that the auto import-promotion strategy will be implemented during the 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015) through corresponding financial, taxation and trade policies.
China overtook the United States last year to become the world's largest auto market by selling 13.65 million vehicles, up 46 percent year on year, while production that year jumped 48 percent to reach 13.79 million units.
If 18 million units were sold this year, this would mean an increase in both vehicle sales and production of more than 30 percent compared to last year.
Despite the auto sales surge in China, imports of completely built units account for less than 5 percent of market share as world's major automakers set up joint ventures with Chinese partners to satisfy the vast Chinese market.
