China's electronics and information technology (IT) industry has developed fast since the country's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Tuesday.
The industry's revenues rose to 7.8 trillion yuan (1.23 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, a 5.4-fold increase from 2001. The sector's industrial value-added output accounted for 4.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product last year, up from 2.5 percent in 2001, the ministry said at a forum in Shenzhen, a city in south China's Guangdong Province.
China's imports and exports of electronic products reached 1.01 trillion U.S. dollars last year, an 8.2-fold rise from the 2001 level.
Currently, Chinese electronics and IT companies have established more than 500 production and research bases overseas, the ministry said.
Despite the substantial progress the industry has made, some "structural problems" still exist and the industry faces several pressing issues, including a lack of key technologies, intellectual property rights and world-famous brands, said Zhou Zixue, the ministry's chief economist.
The ministry said domestic companies should strengthen innovation and brand-building to promote the industry's development.
