国内英语新闻:Chinese vice premier orders central SOEs to achieve greater development

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang Thursday ordered centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to achieve greater development over the next five years.

Zhang also required the SOEs to boost efforts to reform while optimizing industrial structures and reinforcing management.

He made the remarks during an inspection tour of the China Electronics Technology Group Co., one of the nation's 122 centrally-administered SOEs.

Zhang said the centrally-administered SOEs, as the backbone of China's economy, should focus on increasing their competitive edge while developing hi-tech industries and nurturing their own brands with independent intellectual property rights.

During the January-to-September period, the combined net profit of China's centrally-administered SOEs totalled 641.65 billion yuan (96.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 55 percent year on year.