Sales in China's electronic information sector rose 23.7 percent to 4.75 trillion yuan (US$608.97 billion) in 2006, according to a report from the Ministry of Information Industry.

 

The report predicted the sector would maintain steady and fast development in 2007, with sales growing 22 percent.

 

Last year China produced 480 million mobile phones, up 58.2 percent, 93.36 million personal computers, up 15.5 percent, 66.95 million digital cameras, up 21.2 percent and 83.75 million color televisions, up 1.1 percent.

 

Foreign-invested firms -- including Sino-foreign joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative firms and exclusively foreign-funded firms -- were the main force in the sector, which was becoming increasingly internationalized and reliant on foreign trade, said the report.

 

These firms contributed to 80 percent of the total revenues, profits and exports in China's electronic information sector.

 

The sector reported exports and imports totaling US$651.7 billion last year, accounting for 37 percent of China's foreign trade and 15 percent of the global trade of electronic information products.

 

The country exported US$364 billion worth of electronic information products last year, up 35.7 percent, while imports surged 30.5 percent to US$287.7 billion.

 

On the world markets, 47 percent of the mobile phones sold, 40 percent of the personal computers and 48 percent of the color TVs were made or assembled in China.

 

But Chinese electronic information products have been involved in many international trade frictions as they have gained an increasing world market share, said the report.

 

These products were facing greater risks of anti-dumping charges, technical barriers and intellectual property rights lawsuits, while Chinese companies often suffered from unfair treatment when investing overseas, said the report.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2007)