Combo photo shows the first Jiefang truck made by China FAW Group Corporation rolling off the assembly line on July 13, 1956 (top, file photo), and FAW's employees cheering up for the first batch of the Jiefang trucks in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province (bottom, undated file photo). Over six decades ago, China set up its first automobile manufacturer in the northeastern industrial city of Changchun as the country began to beef up its economy, and unveiled the nation's first domestically produced passenger car in 1958. Nowadays, the country has been the world's largest automobile manufacturer and seller in the past decade with 28.08 million vehicles sold last year, accounting for 30.6 percent of the global market. Despite getting a late start, China's automobile manufacturers have been narrowing down the gap between global competitive players and embarked on a journey of becoming a globally popular auto retailer. (Xinhua)
