China prioritises machine tool innovation in five-year plan

China Machine Tool and Tool Builders’ Association president Wu Bailin said the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission are jointly drafting a plan to boost development of the country's CNC machine tools in the coming five years. He said that investment in development of CNC machine tools would be huge, according to the China Daily. To further boost the development of CNC machine tools, the Association will co-operate with related government departments to hold forums on the industry, including one devoted to the co-operation between the machine tool manufacturers across the Taiwan Straits. At present, the ratio of CNC machine tools in China is only about 6 to 7 per cent of the total in use; it is much higher in developed. China is still, therefore, a large market for CNC machine tools. In 2000, China’s metalcutting CNC machine tool output was less than 14,000 units, last year it was more than 60,000 units. China’s machine tool industry is expected to grow by about 15 per cent this year, with its sales revenue reaching about 150 billion yuan ($18.75 billion). Total output in 2005 was 130 billion yuan (16.25 billion US dollars), which represented year-on-year growth of 25 per cent.