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China's electronic, information industry world's 3rd largest

Xinhua, 10 June 2001

HANGZHOU, June 10 (Xinhua) -- China's electronic and information technology industry is now ranked third in the world in terms of turnover, Vice-Minister of Information Industry Lu Xinkui said here recently.

In 2000, China's electronic and information technology industry recorded an output of one trillion yuan and exports worth 55 billion U.S. dollars, far exceeding the set target for the ninth five-year plan ending 2000, the official said.

The electronic and information technology industry has not only grown into China's biggest industry, but has also worked as a multiplier in the country's economic restructuring, Lu said at a national conference on the industry in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in east China.

The vice-minister attributed the rapid expansion of the industry to massive technical upgrading drives over the last five years.

Official figures show that the industry spent 75 billion yuan on 2,000 technical upgrading projects between 1996 and 2000, and that over 60 percent of the industry's added-value was created by new technologies.