Cars will only be imported through four harbors and three land ports into China from Tuesday, according to China's new auto industry development report.

The State Development and Reform Commission issued the auto industry development report Tuesday to replace the old one set forth in 1994, as the three-year reprieve period, which ended this year, for China's domestic car industry to get used to the WTO requirements.

The four harbors are northeast China's Dalian harbor, north China's Tianjin harbor, east China's Shanghai harbor and Huangpu harbor in south China's Guangdong Province while the three land ports are Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia and Alataw Pass in northwest's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

But through the Alataw Pass will only be allowed car units which are made in the Commonwealth of Independent States and are to be sold in Xinjiang.

According to Customs, China imported 172,683 cars in 2003, double that of 2001, and the import of sedans first topped 100,000.

In the first four months this year, the sedan imports reached 43,544, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 percent.

According to promises upon its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), China will cancel its auto import quota from Jan. 1, 2005, which remains US$10.49 billion this year.

China will cut tariff rates for imported car units to 25 percent and auto parts to 10 percent by July 1, 2006.

The report acknowledged that the Chinese government will support the car credit services.

Non-banking financial institutions are allowed to dabble in services relevant to car sale and foreign companies can take up auto credit and lending service, said the report.

Chinese are allowed to mortgage their car for a loan to buy the car, it added.

(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2004)