10 billion auto fund is still waiting

10 billion, as a special fund, will be used in the field of technical innovation and updating for automobile enterprises in recent 3 years. It is clearly claimed in the adjustment and stimulus plan of automobile. After the main body of the plan, there is an appendix in terms of relevant technical innovation projects, especially those clearly encouraged by the government.

But according to the reporter, in the past couple of months, only several of the special fund was granted in contrast of the positive attitude towards striving for the capital Up to the present situation, the planned 3 billion of this year can’t be used up, Zhang Shulin revealed, who is the counselor of the technical research center of china automobile, and also participates in the approval process. It is not due to the complex approval process of government. The reason is that few projects are declared to relevant departments.

As far as the insider concerned, the government is willing to support the technical innovation while the enterprises hold a negative attitude. The contradiction itself revealed that, the local automobile enterprises still have a long way to go in terms of self-innovation especially in the fields of main-parts technology. The whole technical level is still in a lower stage compared with developed countries not only in the new-energy automobile area, but also in the traditional area, for example, the motor and the gear-box.

According to the reporters, the 10 billion special funds are granted in the form of paying interest for enterprises by two departments, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which means if the declared projects is up to the appendix and approved, they will get the interest according to their investment amounts. The methods of paying interest will prevent the money being diverted, that is to say, they can't be used for supporting their daily production.

Li Yizhong, the minister of MIIT(the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) told the reporter that , the innovation fund will play an important role as a lever in order to promote more projects put into practice.

On May 6, the executive meetings of the State Council have passed the plan that 20 billion funds will be used in the key fields of steel, petrochemical and new-energy industries. Half of the total funds are used for automobile industry. From the angle of the insiders of the industry, it is the considerable input by the government.

In the 2009 International Forum on Chinese Automotive Industry Development, Chen Jianguo, Vice Chief Director, Industrial Coordination Department, the National Development and Reform Commission said to the reporter, as for this time, the government not only simply encourage to promote innovation, more importantly, we draw up the specific technical index, and the approval process is apparently strict.(Yalong)

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