The Chinese government on Wednesday approved the national plan for the distribution of sea ports and the medium and long-term plans for the shipbuilding industry.

The two plans were approved at a meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

It was agreed at the meeting that a reasonable distribution of ports along the Chinese coast is of great importance to the national transport networks and to the expansion of China's foreign trade.

The plan calls for improved coordination between regions in the development of ports and stresses the importance of ports raising their capacity to achieve economies of scale.

The meeting decided that port development shall focus on coal, crude oil, iron ore and container systems before 2010.

China's dynamic economy and explosive growth of trade have sparked off a wave of port development and expansion in recent years, involving tens of billions of yuan in investment.

Shanghai, Qingdao, Shenzhen and other Chinese ports are now among the busiest ports in the world.

On the shipbuilding industry, the meeting pointed out this is an industry where China has a comparative advantage in international competition and so it must be strengthened over the next ten years.

The meeting called for more efforts to encourage technical innovations in the industry, to pursue greater market share through international cooperation and to strengthen the development of human resources.

China is now the world's third largest shipbuilder after Japan and the Republic of Korea, holding about a 14 percent share of the global market.

Source: Xinhua