Jewelry has emerged as the third leading consumption item in China after housing and automobiles, China Gem Association Secretary-General Sun Fengmin said recently.

The jewelry industry in China recorded double-digit growth in recent years with an annual sales value of more than 100 billion yuan (12 billion US dollars), Sun said at the first Yunnan international gem and jade expo held in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

China leads the world in the consumption of platinum, gold and diamonds. The country consumes 1.2 million ounces of platinum and 250 tons of gold annually. More than 20,000 Chinese engage in diamond polishing with a processing volume of 3 million carats each year.

The leading pearl producer in the world, China turns out more than 500 tons of pearls annually, accounting for 90 percent of the world's total. The country has become the world's largest center for jade processing and consumption as well, selling 6,000 tons of jade per year.

The Chinese government has taken a series of measures to promote the development of the jewelry industry. It has lowered the tariff rate from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 10 percent this year, and it allowed silver, long considered a special commodity in China, to be traded on the open market in January 2000. The Shanghai diamond exchange was officially opened in October 2000. China's first gold exchange opened in Shanghai in October 2002.

China has readjusted the tax rate on diamond sales and gold imports to fulfill its World Trade Organization commitments and has promulgated a number of regulations governing gems' grading.