--Dan
WTO impacts China’s paper industry
As China accelerates its steps towards joining the WTO, experts say that entry will have a significant impact on China’s paper industry, and we must not neglect to come up with policies and countermeasures against it. The paper industry is one of the nation’s key industries; 90% of its output is further processed, 10% is consumed in daily life. According to statistics, in 1998 the annual output of machine-made paper and cardboard in China already reached 28m tons, the world’s third highest. But China is still lagging behind in terms of technology. For instance, there are only 600 types of paper products in China, 50% of which are medium and low-end products, while in developed countries, there are over 1,000 types of high-end and medium-end paper products. In China, 200 tons of paper are consumed in producing a ton of news-print, while in developed countries it only takes 20 tons. Therefore, in terms of its current situation and its prospects, after joining the WTO, China’s paper industry will face a very grim situation. According to industry experts, the paper industry is a traditional raw material industry in China, the technological equipment of most enterprises is very antiquated, their production scale is small, pollution is serious, labor productivity rather low, and they are burdened with heavy debts. In terms of economic power they cannot even compare with similar enterprises in developed countries, so it will be difficult for them to compete. According to statistics, 60% of these enterprises will be impacted by entry into WTO, and about 700,000 workers will lose their jobs. According to sources, in the past, China’s paper market was mainly supplied by domestic enterprises, while imported paper only played a minor role. In recent years, import volume had continuously increased, and has reached 5.77m tons by 1998, 20% of the total output of China. According to estimates, by 2005, China’s dependence on imported paper will reach around 25%. Current import tariff on papers imported in large volumes, including news-print, writing paper, art paper, craft, gusset felt, white paper, coated paper, and corrugated paper are 12% and 15%, and the volume of import is growing substantially each year. After joining the WTO, with the tariff further lowered, prices of imported paper will drop, and the impact on domestic products will be even worse. Because of this, experts suggest that the paper industry be given a little time and protection after joining the WTO, and they suggest including the paper industry as part of the national basic industries that enjoy special support. China Economic Times, 99.12.22, 01 © 1998-1999 SinoFile® Information Services Ltd. All rights reserved.
China Media Monitoring
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------------------------------------------------------ Daniel F. Vukovich Dept. of English; The Unit for Criticism University of Illinois Urbana, IL 61801 ------------------------------------------------------