China should seize the opportune time to implement the relevant policy to further develop software industry within its own capacity, Vice Premier Huang Ju said at the Ninth China International Software Exposition.

Vice Premier Huang spoke highly of the achievements China has scored in information technology in recent years, calling on the relevant departments to carry out the policy of the State Council to speed up the research and application of the primary software and key technology in software industry.

He also said China should protect software intellectual property and create still better environment for foreign investment.

China's software industry has been developing rapidly since 2000 when the country promulgated the policy of promoting the industry. In 2004, the country's total output value of software hit 230 billion RMB (about 21.8 US dollars), an increase of 186 billion yuan (some 22.5 US dollars) over 1999 with a 30 percent annual growth rate. The software exports reached 2.8 billion US dollars, 12 times the figure for 1999. China now have 176 state major software enterprises, 11 state software bases, and six state software bases for export.

The International Software Exposition is an annual event for software industry, and the ninth session was held in Beijing from June 14 to 16, with a theme to showcase China's achievements in software industry and promote the cooperation among software circles.

The exposition was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, the State Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, and other departments.

Source: Xinhua