The Asian Packing Centre of the World Packing Organization (WPO) will be set up in Wenzhou of east China's Zhejiang Province, according to the China Packing Technology Association (CPTA).

The centre, covering a total area of 1.2 million square metres, needs an estimated investment of more than 3.5 billion yuan (US$422.8 million). This investment is expected to come from various sources, including the Kingstar Group, several Chinese companies under CPTA and foreign companies, CPTA Vice-President Xie Rongquan said over the weekend.

The first phase of construction will include a conventional building for conferences, an exhibition centre, a finance house, a world commercial centre and a WPO assembly hall. A free trade and commodities processing zone and a packing industrial park are also in the plans.

"We hope the project will help fuel China's economy through providing advanced facilities to help upgrade the packing technology of Chinese-made products," said Jing Shuping, chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

Jing said he believed Wenzhou was an ideal choice for the location of the centre, as one of China's first cities to open up to the outside world. It has now built up economic and trade ties with more than 120 countries and regions across the world.

The gross output value of China's packing industry is expected to top 190 billion yuan (US$22.9 billion) this year from 7.2 billion yuan (US$870 million) two decades ago, an average annual increase of 15 percent.

However, many problems still exist in China's packing industry. The country is still largely dependent on imported advanced machinery and high-grade raw materials. And domestic enterprises cannot yet produce some of the advanced testing devices. Besides, the industry urgently needs technological innovation, said a professor from the Renmin University of China.

(China Daily)