Chinese manufacturing giant Sany Group's crawler crane, boasting the highest lifting capacity in the world, was put into service on Thursday, demonstrating China's advanced manufacturing level.

The crawler crane is capable of lifting 4,500 metric tons, or over 3,000 cars, breaking a world record. It takes up an area of nearly 4,200 square meters, equivalent to 10 basketball courts.

"It takes at least 200 30-ton trucks to move the behemoth," said Qin Xuqi, dean of the crane's research institute.

According to Sany, the crawler crane will be used in the country's nuclear power and petrochemical construction sectors.

"This is the second crawler crane with over 4,000 tons of lifting capacity we purchased. Sany has offered us strong support in equipment and services," said Yu Limin, chairman of Shandong Haiwan Hoisting Engineering Co Ltd, the purchaser of the crane.

Industry experts said the launch of the crawler crane is a historic achievement for the country's crane industry, making China the first country capable of independently developing 4,500 ton-level moving cranes.

In addition, according to Sany, the commonality of components between the crawler crane and Sany's other large-tonnage cranes is as high as 95 percent. With a few parts replaced, the crawler crane can be disassembled into an independent 2,000 ton-level crawler crane to complete complex tasks in a joint operation.

"The crawler crane's control accuracy reaches millimeter level. Currently, the product has applied for over 20 patents," Qin said.

This is the third time Sany's crawler crane has broken a world record for lifting capacity. In the future, the company plans to further enhance its research and development and manufacturing abilities to export more high-quality machinery to the world.