Technological innovation will be a hot topic during this year's Two Sessions. The development of local technology has grown in significance. One firm in the southern coastal Chinese city of Guangzhou is preparing to make a splash in the middle and high-end auto sector. That's traditionally been dominated by foreign brands. Our reporter Ge Yunfei sat down with Zhang Fan, a superstar in China's car design industry, to hear his views on Chinese creations.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "Car designers have probably one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, because the day you stop thinking something new, it probably means the end of your career. You always have to challenge the existing rules, the existing forms, shapes, aesthetics. You have to always be a rule breaker. You have to always be one step ahead of everyone else."

This is the Trumpchi GS8, a 7-seat mid-size SUV that's a big hit in China. It'll be available in the US in 2019. That'll make its producer GAC Motor the first Chinese car brand to enter the US market. Zhang Fan, is the visionary behind the car. He's a superstar in the Chinese auto-design industry.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "For a car which is over 4.5 meters long, we actually care every movement of the vehicle down to the millimeter, even ten percent of one millimeter. Just to make sure the vehicle, the shapes, the lines are at their best. And all the highlights of the car are running perfectly."

Good design usually comes with a higher price tag. But Zhang says China's growing middle class is now willing to pay for quality. This is the best time for Chinese car designers.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "Chinese customers like to have good-looking cars. And this kind of likeability is very special, I would say it's more (significant) than in other markets in the world. And the Chinese market has capacity for all the new stuff. Being a designer is all about creating something new. Right now you actually have this opportunity, not only to create something new, but also to establish something. So I think this will be a paradise for designers."

When he talks of those still playing at copy-and-paste, Zhang cannot hide his contempt.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "It's most unfortunate. While they only take the so-called safe ways to copy other stuff, to take advantage of (others), this isn't right. And it's not brave. And most importantly, it's an act that leaves you with no future."

Zhang's bet for the future is this futuristic and eye-catching pure-electric concept SUV called Enverge. Since its very conception, Enverge has been designed for the North American market and aimed squarely at young buyers.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "Our dream or our ambition is to break into the international market, even to be a global leader. We want to create new trends that everybody will talk about and even try to follow."

Six years ago, when Zhang came back to China to design the Trumpchi series, he only had a team of around 20 young workers. Now he has over 300 people capable of launching four or five new models into the market each year.

ZHANG FAN, CHIEF DESIGNER GAC ENGINEERING "I would say to new young designers, welcome back to work in the Chinese automobile industry. You will not regret it. Just like what I have done."

Zhang says being in the Chinese car industry right now is like sitting in a bullet train. And this is the moment for domestic car designers to make their histories. Ge Yunfei, CGTN, Guangzhou.