China's machinery sector faces overcapacity

BEIJING - China's machinery industry faces overcapacity at the low end sectors and a lack of capacity at the high end, head of the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) said Thursday.

The biggest problem for the industry is "structural overcapacity" - huge capacity in low added-value sectors, said Wang Ruixiang, president of CMIF, the leading association of China's machinery companies.

Production capacity utilization rate in some sectors is as low as 30 percent, he told an industry meeting, warning that "industrial adjustment and upgrading is the top priority."

However, integration of Beijing with neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei province, the "belt and road" initiative, and Yangtze River economic belt are historic opportunities for the machinery industry, Wang added.

The country's nuclear power, large-scale hydropower, thermal power and other high-end equipment manufacturing sectors now are among the world's best, Wang said.

Chinese machinery businesses made combined profits of 1.35 trillion yuan ($220 billion) last year, up 11.2 percent from 2013.