Wei Jianguo, Vice Minister of Commerce, said the move is aimed at helping domestic firms respond rapidly to foreign technical trade barriers.

    With the development of free trade, traditional trade barriers such as tariffs, quotas and licenses have given way to technical barriers which often come under the guise of environmental protection and the need of securing consumer health.

    China's official statistics revealed that nearly two-thirds of China's export-oriented companies have been affected by the technical standards of foreign countries, with their aggregated economic losses estimated to be around 20 billion US dollars.

    "To defend the interests of domestic companies and to have a bigger say in the world market, we must take pro-active, not reactive steps in dealing with foreign trade barriers," said Zhang Xiangchen, Director-General of the Department of World Trade Organization (WTO) Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce.

    Zhang said that every WTO member had the legitimate right to question a new trade regulation of other nations within 60 days of the promulgation. However, the lack of assistance from technical experts and the abstruseness of technical standards often frustrate companies and prevent them from taking effective actions.

    To remedy the situation, the Ministry of Commerce required the first batch of service centers to carefully track technical standards development in the global market and issue regular reports for the reference of the government and relevant industries.

    As supporting institutions of the Ministry of Commerce, the service centers are required to submit in-depth reports on the impact of technical barriers toward Chinese industries, to evaluate the country's current technologies and make constructive proposals for the decision making of the governments.

    Professor Ma Dejun, vice-president of the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute which has been designated as such a service center, said that companies like Haier and Lenovo, excited by the brand-new services, had offered to help in the compilation of the export technology guide.

    "Since our objective is to resolve the common problems faced by industry, companies are very cooperative and ready to help," Ma said.

    Apart from the household electrical appliances sector, the first batch of service centers also focus on technical standards related to aquatic products, honey, eel, food quality, fuel, leather, raw silk, textile, down clothes, porcelain, instrument and apparatus, computer and its parts and accessories, toys and packaging.

    Between 2006 and 2010, 100 technical service centers will be founded, which aims to cover more than half the country's export commodities and over 80 percent of China's export markets. Each of the centers will be subject to regular inspection. Those who fail to do so will have their licenses removed. Enditem