Beijing Holds Glass Industry Technical ExhibitionThe Eighth China International Glass Industrial Technical Exhibition (China glass 2000) opened in Beijing Wednesday, with more than 300 glass companies from 18 countries including Germany, Italy and France participating. The exhibition, co-sponsored by the Chinese Ceramic Society and the China National Association for Glass Industry, will last three days until Friday."China's glass industry has developed rapidly since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policies in 1978," Jiang Donghua, vice-president of the Chinese Ceramic Society, said at the opening ceremony. The flat glass output jumped from 17.8 million boxes in 1979 to 179 million boxes in 1999, ranking it first worldwide. By 1998, China had 330 flat glass mills with some 500 production lines and an annual production capacity of 215 million boxes. According to Hao Zhenhua of the State Administration of Building Materials Industry, small glass factories played a role in local economic development, but their outdated technology, high energy consumption, low productivity and poor quality had a negative impact on the economy's sustainable development. In addition, products manufactured by the majority of the small glass factories were not up to the standards set by the central government. Hao's bureau shut down some small glass mills with an annual production of 150,000 boxes of glass in 1999. |
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