国内英语新闻:China approves stimulus plan for ship building industry

BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council, or Cabinet, adopted a stimulus plan Wednesday for the shipbuilding industry at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

    The meeting said shipbuilding is a modern, comprehensive industry that provides technical equipment for transportation, maritime development and national defense. Supporting shipbuilders would also help other sectors, including steel, chemicals, textiles, light industry, equipment manufacturing and information technology, it said.

New orders for domestic shipbuilders are expected to fall to 20-30 million deadweight tons in 2009, compared to 58.18 million deadweight tons in 2008, according to the China Association of National Shipbuilding Industry

    The meeting agreed to increase credit support by an unspecified amount for ship buyers. It also decided to extend the existing financial support policies for oceangoing vessels until 2012. These policies include tax rebates on key imported components for domestically owned oceangoing ships.

    It said construction of new docks and the expansion of slipways should be suspended for three years to facilitate industrial restructuring.

    It also recommended investment in research and development of facilities to build high-technology ships and maritime engineering equipment and promote technical innovation.

    The meeting also approved a draft plan for fighting drought.