China has developed the third largest manufacturing industry of electronic and information technology (IT) products in the world, the State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) of China announced Tuesday.

China's electronic and IT manufacturing industry reaped a total sales revenue of 1.88 trillion yuan (US$227 billion) in 2003, increasing 34 percent over the previous year.

In the same year, China exported US$110 billion worth of hi-tech products, increasing 63 percent over one year ago and accounting for more than one quarter of the country's total exports.

The SDRC said China's hi-tech product exports registered a historical turn-around as it had seen consecutive monthly surplus of trade since last October.

China now has become the largest producer of program controlled telephone switches, mobile phone handsets, color TV and color monitors in the world, accounting for 30-55 percent of the total global output. A major part of these products are exported to other parts of the world.

(People's Daily February 4, 2004)