It has also been one of the hot topics at the soon-to-conclude annual parliamentary and the just- concluded advisory session. 0315tech 

CRI's Fei Fei brings you a close look at one technological breakthrough involving a small ball point pen, and the insight it provides into the country's national industrial promotion program.

Over 40 billion ballpoint pens are made in China every year. Yet, the key materials and equipment are, for the most part, imported.

中国尽最大努力推进科技创新

Thus, most Chinese stationery companies are lingering at the low end of the industrial chain.

Ding Zhangrong, president of domestic stationery company Guanghua, said manufacturers make less than 10 cents on each ballpoint pen.

Qin Yong is in charge of high and new technology development at the Ministry of Science and Technology. He explained the main weakness lies in the material of the ball seat, the material and producing technology of ink, and processing equipment.

At the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference session five years ago, the top advisory body set up a special team to promote the domestic production of ball point pens.

Thanks to the efforts of many, the project has seen success.

CEO of domestic stationery company TrueColor, Mo Xiaoxi, said that once they began using domestic raw material and equipment, they have seen huge savings.

"We found that the production cost of a ball pen which is sold at one yuan or more will be cut by four to five cents. Our company manufactures millions of ball point pens everyday. So we can save hundreds of thousands yuan each day and 60 to 70 million yuan annually."However, Qin Yong pointed out though China has made breakthrough in ball point pen production, many companies still depend on import.

"I think the problem is though we have owned advanced material, we failed to produce advanced material steadily and still need to improve our manufacturing process. Moreover, we need to extend the market for domestic material. We have to promote our products and let more Chinese companies to trust and buy domestic produced material."Deputy of National People's Congress Zhang Zhao'an emphasized the importance of support from research institutes and government in innovation and industrial upgrades.

"The major and high-end technical progress should not merely depend on companies. Research institutes and government should also be involved. Thanks to the support from the government, we have made substantial progress in ball point pen production within only five years. In conclusion, I believe the development of new technology needs the efforts of many parties to transform China into a true manufacturing giant."Qin Yong added the country is still facing great challenges in industrial upgrading, such as unbalanced technological development among different regions and technological weakness in innovation.

He promised the ministry will be dedicated to pushing forward the "Made in China 2025" program and ensure a manufacturing process that is both intelligent and green.

For CRI, this is Fei Fei.