Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a news conferecne on Jan 23 that a bitter dispute between China’s two major heavy machine makers could only be resolved after further investigation.

Sany Group and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development Co Ltd both alleged that each other stole commercial secrets since November

The allegations come as the industry has been suffering from the impact of the sluggish global economy and China’s slowing economic growth in 2012.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that output of equipment manufacturing industry expanded 8.4 percent year-on-year in 2012, while overall industrial output grew by 10 percent over the same period.

Zhu called for enterprises to increase research and development and further explore markets to overcome the difficult situation.