Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Ju has urged the telecommunications industry to give top priority to independent innovations and play a key role in building China into an innovation-based country.

China's telecommunications industry has grown rapidly over the last few years and the level of technology has improved remarkably, providing a necessary foundation for China to catch up with and even overtake leaders in the industry, Huang said.

The vice-premier called for the establishment of a market-driven innovation system that combines enterprises, higher education institutions and research institutions, but with enterprises as the main players.

The pursuit of innovations must lead to breakthroughs in core technologies, the obtaining of intellectual property rights and the nurturing of innovation-based enterprises with an international competitive edge, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2006)