China's machinery industry is expected to see sales and production up by 15 percent this year, an official of the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) said at a press conference Friday.

The industry would see slower growth compared with last year, as costs of production materials continued to rise and China's currency looked set to strengthen against the U.S. dollar, said CMIF vice president Cai Weici.

Last year saw record production and sales in the sector, said a statement released at the press conference.

Production rose 33.93 percent to 14.38 trillion yuan (2.19 trillion U.S. dollars), while sales rose 34.26 percent to 14.06 trillion yuan (2.14 trillion U.S. dollars), the statement said.

Last year's profits also hit a record 898.4 billion yuan, up 52.74 percent year on year.

During the country's 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010) the annual increase of machinery production stood at 28 percent, much higher than the 12 percent target set for the period.

Profits saw an annual rise of 33 percent, exceeding the target of 10 percent.

For the 12th Five-Year Program (2011-2015), the CMIF has set the growth target of production and sales at 12 percent.

Cai said the industry was likely to experience relatively fast growth in the next five years, as the government had made policies favorable to its development.

The Proposal on Formulating the Twelfth Five-Year Program (2011-2015) on National Economic and Social Development, released in October, says China will support seven new strategic industries, including new information technology, environment protection, new energy, biology, new materials, high-end equipment manufacturing, and new-energy cars.

Both high-end equipment manufacturing and new-energy cars belong to the machinery industry, giving momentum to the industry's strong growth, said Cai.

"The greatest challenge for the industry in the next five years is upgrading the industry's structure and transforming its development pattern," said Cai.

The CMIF is urging companies in the sector to focus more on high-end markets and constantly seek independent innovation.