China's industrial sector will continue to suffer from the flagging world economy and the technology sector and small businesses will require more support, a Chinese minister said Friday.

"We estimate that the industrial sector has not bottomed out yet," said Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong at a press conference. "The negative influence would further unfold in December and in the first quarter of 2009."

China's industrial output grew at an annual rate of 8.2 percent in October, the slowest in seven years and sharply down from 11.4 percent in September and 16 percent in June.

The November figure will continue to slide, Li told the press conference. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics is expected next week.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is making a plan to provide 15 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) of loan subsidies to drive 300-to-400 billion yuan of investment in bolstering the industrial technology sector, said Li.

Government support of the technology sector could play a significant role in helping China weather the Asian Financial Crisis, he said.

"The global financial crisis has hit China hard. The situation is complicated by some long-existing problems deeply rooted within the industrial sector itself," said Li.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises, especially exporters in coastal areas, were the first to feel the pinch of decreased foreign demand, with some companies forced to close earlier this year.

China's exports in November slid 2.2 percent year-on-year to US$115 billion, the first monthly decline since June 2001, Wednesday data from the General Administration of Customs show.

The central government will beef up funding for loan guarantee agencies to help small companies qualify for bank credit, said Li.

China has more than doubled capital injection into loan guarantee agencies this year to 1.8 billion yuan and lifted the ceiling of bank credit for small enterprises from 1 million yuan to 2 million yuan, he said.

The central government rolled out a stimulus package of 4 trillion yuan last month to slow the economic downturn.

Li suggested more policies should be considered to encourage the development of the auto industry, which could serve as a strong boost for consumption.

He advised cutting taxes on purchase of low-emission cars, lowering loan interest rates for individual buyers and increasing government purchase of home-branded vehicles.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2008)