Shanghai drives to the front with car exports

SHANGHAI may see a boom in automotive exports and trading after establishing itself as one of eight national automobile and spare parts export bases.

The National Automobile and Spare Parts Export Base (Shanghai) was officially opened on June 26 at the Shanghai International Automobile City in Anting, Jiading District in west Shanghai.

The seven other bases will be located in Tianjin, Changchun, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xiamen, Wuhu and Taizhou.

"With the backing of the Shanghai AutoCity, the e xport bases will strengthen car makers and improve their export capabilities, not only in the Yangtze River Delta but throughout the country," said Li Xue, head of Anting Town. "The ultimate goal is to create a car production center with an internationally recognized R&D facility for China's branded cars and new energy vehicles and an international spare parts market."

The export base will concentrate on four sectors initially, including the construction of a manufacturing area and R&D facilities such as a wind tunnel laboratory and an authentication center.

Yan Jianlai, director of the auto parts department of the Society of Automotive Engineers of China, said the establishment of the export bases underlines China's efforts to boost its car exports.

"It is a move forward in encouraging the export of high value-added products for China," Yan said.

"By given preference to exporting companies, these bases will help expand China's car exports," he added.

The Anting export base has a shopping agenda that includes duty-free warehouses and a human resources center to attract talent.

The German automotive association, Verband der Automobilindustrie, has established a base there to facilitate car exports to Europe.

The other part of the Shanghai export base that could enjoy a serious boost is the car parts industry.

The car parts industry is growing in importance not only because of the way it has boosted China's car industry but also because of its rapid expansion.

For the first quarter of this year, the value of car part exports rose 24.84 percent to US$7.6 billion.

Most of the car parts were shipped to developed countries with the United States, Japan, South Korea and Germany in the lead, accounting for 55 percent of the total export.

China has more than 5,000 registered car parts manufacturers generating an estimated 6 to 8 trillion yuan.

Shanghai had planned to spend 50 billion yuan (US$7.28 billion) between 2001 and 2010 to build the AutoCity. Since its ground-breaking ceremony in 2001, 38 billion as been invested.