Lu Wenyuan, deputy secretary-general of the China Gold Association, said this Tuesday at the opening ceremony for the first session of the China International Gold Exhibition, which is to be continued to Friday in Beijing.

"Because of the State's long-time control of gold purchasing and distribution, few processing plants thought it necessary to devote themselves to the research and development of gold utilization in both civil and industrial sectors,'' Lu said.

He cited pure gold ornaments as an example, because their unit price is the same throughout the country.

"However, in line with international practices, the price of such ornaments should be set in accordance with not only weight but also design and handicraft,'' Lu said.

So far, Shanghai and Hangzhou have lifted price restraints on gold ornaments, which is expected to encourage processing plants to upgrade technologies, meet various demands of consumers and expand gold consumption.

"Gold utilization for medical, electronic, chemical, aviation and space flight industries is very limited in China,'' Lu said.

Experts attribute it mainly to the high price of the good-quality catalyst, which has to be imported from foreign countries with high tariffs.

After China's entry into the World Trade Organization, the high cost of gold catalyst may be reduced for tariff cutting, which should encourage related enterprises and institutions to study and explore the industrial utilization technologies of gold as soon as possible.

According to official statistics, China's gold output reached 175 tons last year, ranking fourth around the world, but consumption and utilization did not match the production levels.

The first session of the China International Gold Exhibition, the country's first international gold event, has attracted around 100 gold institutions and enterprises from home and abroad to present gold products and processing technologies, exchange information and set up cooperate relationships.

(China Daily 06/20/2001)