China has become the world's largest manufacturing base of building ceramics and sanitaryware after twenty years of fast growth, said Miao Bin, secretary general of China Building Ceramics and Sanitaryware Association.

Miao made the statement at a press conference on 2007 Northeast of China International Ceramics Exposition (NCICE) scheduled to kick off in Northeast China's Shenyang in July this year.

The secretary general said China has produced more than half of the world's total building ceramics and sanitarywares with advanced technologies.

Some of these products have entered the European and the U.S. market, he added.

In the meantime, he acknowledged that China lags behind its foreign counterparts in research and development innovation.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has predicted profits of the building materials industry will keep rising this year.

Overseas investors are positive about China's building materials industry and are stepping up mergers with and acquisitions of domestic companies, commission sources said.

The international trade of building materials is also booming, with markets in Middle East and Africa the most promising.

China's accelerating urbanization and construction in rural areas meant a strong demand, the NDRC source said.

In 2006, major building materials companies registered industrial output value of 1.32 trillion yuan (175 billion U.S. dollars), up 29.1 percent, four percentage points up from 2005.

Profits surged 47.1 percent year on year to 60.3 billion yuan. Exports saw a growth of 32.6 percent to 12.93 billion U.S. dollars.