China has designated eight cities as automobile export zones, the official China Daily reported on Friday. The move is part of a bid to help its domestic automakers push for overseas sales to maintain their rapid growth. The cities, named by Commerce Minister Bo Xilai at a Beijing ceremony, are the coastal ports of Shanghai, Tianjin, Xiamen and Taizhou, the Yangtze river cities of Wuhan, Wuhu and Chongqing and northeastern Changchun, the newspaper said.

It did not detail what privileges the zones would enjoy.

The Commerce Ministry also listed 160 vehicle and spare parts manufacturers as the first group of designated exporting firms for the industry, including some foreign-invested companies.

"Expanding the exports of vehicles and spare parts, especially our own brands and those with our own intellectual property rights, is the only way to enhance our auto industry's international competitiveness," the paper quoted Bo as saying.

The government has also pledged to provide financing and insurance support to auto exporters and encourage them to team up with transport firms.

A top official has said vehicles have the biggest growth potential among the products exported by China.

In 2005, vehicle exports hit 173,000 mostly to developing countries surpassing imports for the first time. Together with spare parts shipments, the exports were worth $10.9 billion.

But exports still accounted for just 7.3 percent of China's output, compared with well over a third of vehicles made in Germany, Japan and South Korea, the newspaper said.

SAIC Motor, the country's top automaker, along with smaller rivals Chery Automobile and Geely Automobile Holdings Co., are pursuing sales overseas as competition heats up at home. The firms are eyeing developed markets as well, hoping to become a major global force in the foreseeable future.

SAIC, the Chinese partner of both General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG, aims to sell more than 200,000 of its own-brand cars annually in 2010, with 45,000 going to overseas markets, including Europe.

However, Bo said automakers faced obstacles ranging from weak independent development capabilities to lack of shipping capacity and stricter environmental and safety standards overseas.