China registered a machinery trade deficit of 13.9 billion US dollars in 2005, a sharp decrease of 21.2 billion from 2004, sources with the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) claim.

The foreign trade volume of the machinery industry hit a new record-high of 222.9 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 16.7 percent on the previous year, Cai Weici, vice president of CMIF, said at a news conference predicting the development of the industry in 2006.

The import volume of machinery amounted to 118.4 billion US dollars in 2005, up 4.7 percent, export volume was 104.5 billion US dollars, up 34.1 percent, the third consecutive year it has seen a marked increase, he said.

About 17 percent of machinery products were manufactured for export in 2005, which means that there is still great potential in the sector. The export mix of machinery products was also upgraded further last year, with more high value-added products exported, he said.

Source: Xinhua