The Chinese Automotive Industry After Entering WTO

China's automotive industry has passed almost half a century and has evolved many basic circumstances and features of its own which will be the starting point or base for its further development. Full understanding of those circumstances and features is the prerequisite for us to analyze and study.In order to develop our automotive industry under new situation, we not only must all-sidedly and objectively analyze the problems in us, but also must fully and correctly understand our actual and potential strengths. We should clearly recognize that although our automotive industry, which has experienced nearly fifty years of development including twenty years of reform and opening, has a long way to go comparing with the world level, it possesses many rare giant actual and potential strengths.After entering WTO our automotive industry has entered upon a new phase to cooperate and compete with multi-nationals under the background of globalization, and it will have to join the integration tide of global economy gradually. The trends of world automotive industry and the strategies of multi-nationals in China certainly will directly influence the strategic pattern of our automotive industry, and therefore they are the important part of the external environment of our automotive industry needed special attention.Great changes have taken place in the development conditions of our automotive industry since we entered WTO. At the end of protection interim period to automotive industry, the comprehensive effects of WTO including tariff concession, quota cancel, service trade opening and foreign capital policy regulation will display. The medium and high-class car and key components will come under obvious attack. The degree of the attack depends on not only the reduction of the protection degree, but also the increase of our international competitive power.Japan and Korea are all latecoming developed countries of automotive industry. After entering GATT, they persevered in adopting the vigorous policies to foster and train the self-developing capability and enhance the international competitive power. Then their automotive industry received unprecedented fast development and drove the whole national economy to be powerful and prosperous to a miracle. Although the international environment has been totally different and different countries differ greatly in their conditions, the experiences of Japan and Korea automotive industry during that period and the driving effects of their automotive industry to their national economy will still be special historic significance to our automotive industry.Entering WTO let us enter upon a new phase to cooperate and compete with multi-nationals featuring foreign companies but national treatment and domestic market but international competition. That is a severe challenge as well as a rare opportunity to our automotive industry. The great country and its big market are the most important strength of us. To take full advantage of the strength of great country and big market under the opening and competition environment should be the starting point for the development train of thought of our automotive industry under new economic background.