The output value of China's machine tool industry in 2006 will grow 15 percent year on year to 150 billion yuan (18.6 billion U.S. dollars), the Association of China Machine Tool Industry has predicted.

Geng Liangzhi, deputy chief with the association, said sales value of metal-processing machine tools in China is expected to reach 45 billion yuan (5.6 billion dollars) in 2006, and the total output of numerical-controlled metal-cutting machine tools will top 70,000 units.

Geng said though China's annual output of machine tools has reached 60,000 units, nearly 70 percent of which are low-technology.

Currently, almost all middle and high-level machine tools are imported from overseas markets, said Geng.

Geng urged domestic companies to renovate technologies to produce advanced high-speed equipment and machine parts in the next five years, and try to increase the share of China-made high-precision machine tools from the current 30 percent to over 50 percent by 2010.

By 2010, over 60 percent of parts used in China's machine tools should be made by Chinese companies, while China-designed machine tools will reach 75 percent of the China market, said Geng.

According to Geng, the total output value of China's machine tool industry grew 25 percent year on year to 130 billion yuan (16.25 billion dollars) in 2005, and the export volume of machine tools totaled 3 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua