The output of China's machinery industry rose about 32 percent in 2007 to a record level of more than 7 trillion yuan (US$958.9 billion), according to figures released by the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) on Wednesday.

Officials at the CMIF said that it was the fifth consecutive year in which the annual growth rate had exceeded 20 percent.

In the first 11 months of last year, the major machinery manufacturers recorded 388.7 billion yuan in combined net profit, up 47.79 percent year-on-year. The growth rate of profits was 16 percentage points higher than that of output during that period.

The enterprises paid 210.3 billion yuan in taxes, up 27.59 percent.

The ratio of their combined liabilities to gross assets was 59.52 percent, down 0.27 percentage points, the officials said.

Cai Weici, deputy executive head of the CMIF, said that domestically made products accounted for 82 percent of the machine-building equipment used nationwide as of the end of 2007, up from 71 percent in 2001.

Cai noted that since 2006, China had changed from being a net importer to a net exporter of machinery. Machinery exports grew 40.74 percent in 2007, or 20.67 percentage points faster than the rate of increase for imports.

The machinery sector's trade surplus was US$22.5 billion in the first 11 months of last year, or 9.43 percent of the nation's total surplus for the same period.

According to customs statistics, the sector's foreign trade grew 30.3 percent to US$327.1 billion in the January-November period of 2007, including US$174.8 billion in exports, up 40.74 percent, and US$152.3 billion in imports, up 20.07 percent.

Cai said that last year, China produced 8.88 million motor vehicles, exceeding the eight-million mark for the first time, for a growth rate of 22.02 percent. Cai forecast that vehicle output would hit 10 million this year.