As China enters into the 12th Five-year plan development period, the Chinese auto industry has to actively respond to challenges from the global automotive market and future trends to realize the goal of making itself an innovation power, Wang Ruixiang, president of China Machinery Industry Federation, told a forum on Tuesday.

At the opening ceremony of the 2011 Global Automotive Forum in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Wang said China's automotive industry has made considerable progress after thirty years of reform and opening up, and has become a pillar industry of China's economy.

In 2010, China both produced and sold more than 18 million units, leaping to No 1 auto market in the world, Wang said.

This is the second annual meeting of the Global Automotive Forum with the theme of "From Volume Leader to Innovation Leader", which will last from Oct 11 to 12.