CASS: China's industrial competitiveness picks up

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has released a new blue paper on Monday. The think tank says the competitiveness of Chinese industries has picked up in 2012 from the previous year.

Chinese products had 11 percent of international market share by the end of September last year, compared to 10.4 percent in the whole of 2011. But the paper points out protectionism and economic recession in developed countries have dampened the competitiveness of Chinese products. On the upside, economic growth in Southeast Asia and Africa are supporting Chinese exports.

The Blue Paper also states that the agriculture sector, high energy-consuming and resource-dependent industries are losing their edge because of higher costs. But some high-tech industries including machinery and chemical engineering are developing rapidly and may become growth drivers in the future.

According to the paper, the industrial competitiveness of China's eastern region remains steady. The first five leading provinces and municipalities include Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Shandong. At the same time, the central and western regions have also seen the industrial competitiveness rise at a fast pace.