Innovation key to manufacturing sector

Manufacturers that pursue a high-tech approach will thrive in China, despite the economic slowdown. The sector still has a great deal going for it and will remain the backbone of the country's economy, according to Jim Davis, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of SAS Institute Inc, a leading business analytic software and services company in the United States.

"For sure, some labor-intensive and traditional industries are moving to other countries such as India, Indonesia and Southeast Asia," he said. "But the core production base with research and development centers will remain. And they will reinforce China as a center of regional supply."

Known as the world's factory, China is embarking on a round of industrial consolidation as part of the "Made in China 2025" national plan to reinvigorate the manufacturing sector.