Business Alert - China
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Business Alert - China
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As China speeds up its opening up to the outside world, its translation market is worth tens of billions of yuan and many translation companies have mushroomed. According to the Ministry of Commerce, China is in urgent need of translation experts and companies that have a good knowledge of both the domestic and foreign markets. This provides a good opportunity for Hong Kong companies to develop in the mainland. In 2003, the output value of China's translation industry amounted to Rmb11 billion, and is expected to grow to Rmb20 billion in 2005. The increasing number of large international events to be staged in the country such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Shanghai World Expo will bring about unprecedented opportunities to the industry. Against this backdrop, China's translation market is expanding rapidly. There are currently over 3,000 registered professional translation companies in the mainland. Beijing alone has more than 100. The number may reach tens of thousands as many companies registered as consultancies and printing firms also provide translation service. To participate in this huge market, Hong Kong professionals must take the national translator qualification examination organised by the Ministry of Personnel annually. About 30% of the 2,000-3,000 candidates pass the examination each time. Hong Kong professionals should also study the Code of Translation Services issued by the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine which provides objective criteria on translation services and has been sent to companies that may require such service. According to experts, translation is still a fledgling industry in China, compared with its European and American counterparts. Major problems in the industry include lack of quality assurance, no specialised division of labour, and non-standardised service charges. China needs a government department to supervise its translation industry in a unified and systematic way, a common practice in western countries. China's translation industry is also plagued by a shortage of professionals. According to data provided by the Translators Association of China, there are about 60,000 officially-hired professional translators in the country and the number of people who engage in translation work is conservatively estimated at 500,000 (or as many as one million as found in sample surveys). In view of this, the outlook for Hong Kong translation experts in the mainland is bright. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
