China is drafting new policies to encourage development of the nation's software industry, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua said here today at a news conference on the appraisal of a geographical information system (GIS) software.

He said that the government wants to create a better environment for the country's rapidly growing software industry.

Xu pointed out that the focus of information technology (IT) development is the growth of the software industry, while IT will play a major role in China's economic and social development in 21st century.

To boost its software industry, China has decided to reduce the value-added tax of software and related high-tech products from 17 percent to six percent.

So far, China has established 12 state-level software production bases which have about 200 software manufacturers. The building of these centers is part of a major scientific and technological development program during the country's ninth five- year plan period from 1996 to 2000.

Experts here stressed that GIS software is also necessary for ensuring economic and defense security.

The annual appraisal of the GIS software indicated that the MapGIS, developed by China Geological University, has a mass data buffer processing capacity 14 times higher than similar software made overseas.

GeoStar, developed and produced by Wuhan University of Geodesic, Photogrammetry and Cartographic Science and Technology, is superior to foreign versions because of its superior capabilities of on-line analysis and map publication.

GIS software is widely applied in environmental, communications, agriculture, aerospace, and military fields.