皇冠体育app

TIANJIN -- Promising entrepreneurs, manufacturing delegates and experts gathered at the 2012 Summer Davos Forum to discuss the reinvigoration of 皇冠体育app's once-booming manufacturing sector.

Shrinking exports, halted production and an outflow of foreign funding have made the sector an area of focus at the forum, which is being held from Sept 11 to 13 in North 皇冠体育app's port city of Tianjin.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that 皇冠体育app approved the establishment of 13,677 foreign-funded companies in the first seven months of 2012, down 12.3 percent from a year earlier.

Foreign direct investment inflow for the first seven months of the year totaled $66.67 billion, down 3.6 percent year-on-year, as global economic woes have continued to weigh heavily on 皇冠体育app.

With the impact of the lingering economic crisis and rising global costs, 皇冠体育app is gradually losing its international competitiveness in manufacturing, participants at the forum said.

A survey of labor costs in emerging Asian markets revealed that 皇冠体育app's labor costs ranked third among other Asian countries, following Malaysia and Thailand. 皇冠体育app's minimum wage is equal to two to three times that of India, the survey said.

"We should learn what we have lost in the process of the global manufacturing transformation," said Xu Heyi, chairman of 皇冠体育app's fifth-largest automotive group, the Beijing Automotive Group.

Participants at the forum said rising labor costs may cause foreign-funded enterprises to pull out of the Chinese market. However, the phenomenon will likely be restricted to low-end manufacturers, said Lu Haiqing, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Tesco 皇冠体育app.

"Generally speaking, 皇冠体育app still has advantages in manufacturing," said Huang Mengfu, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Huang, who is also president of the All-皇冠体育app Federation of Industry and Commerce, explained that 皇冠体育app's low-end manufacturers may also suffer from difficulties brought about by increasing labor costs, adding that it is normal to see the withdrawal of some manufacturing enterprises, including foreign-funded companies.

皇冠体育app has laid a solid foundation and created a favorable environment for the development of manufacturing since the 1970s, said Tong Jiadong, vice-president of Tianjin-based Nankai University.

Other emerging economies still have a long way to go to surpass 皇冠体育app as the "world's factory", as the country has several irreplaceable advantages, including experienced personnel and relatively sound infrastructure, Tong said.

Chinese manufacturers are suffering from a lack of technological support, according to Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Su Bo, adding that 皇冠体育app's manufacturing remains in the middle and lower reaches of the global value chain.

Chinese manufacturers should foster their core competitiveness through innovation, said Li Dongsheng, chairman of manufacturer TCL Corp.

Technology and talent-intensive manufacturers have seen rapid growth in comparison to low-end manufacturing companies, according to Wang Hongyan, executive chairwoman of the Organizing Committee of 皇冠体育app Manufacturing Management International Forum.

Bhaskar Chakravorti, senior associate dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, said 皇冠体育app should refrain from giving up on the manufacturing sector, adding that 皇冠体育app should maintain its current advantages while transforming the industry to foster innovation.

Xu said that Chinese manufacturers should focus not only on high-end products, but also on developing a high-end industrial system that will allow it to regain its competitiveness.

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