Hi-tech upgrade continues apace

Its overall industry upgrade is hoped to double the current value of manufacturing output to 2 trillion yuan ($320 billion) by 2025.

"After various measures to boost manufacturing development over the next decade, Dongguan will evolve from being a large manufacturing city into one of the most competitive in the world," said Yuan.

Already, companies that have invested in modern equipment have started reaping benefits.

Lingjiexian Decorative Material Co Ltd, for instance, based in the city's Humen township, has reported a dramatic 10-fold increase in profits after introducing three-dimension technologies into its business last year, which allowed it to cut its labor force and increase efficiency.

"The 3-D technology has brought tremendous changes to the home decoration market," said Li Zhan, its founder and general manager.

In 2013, Lingjiexian's net profit was less than 10 percent of sales due to increased production and labor costs.

"Amid the current sluggish market demand due to the tightened policies for house purchasing, we really have to upgrade the business to cope, as our profits dropped," said Li.

By the end of last year, the Dongguan authorities had invested more than 3.8 billion yuan into helping local companies introduce smart equipment, resulting in a cut in the city's workforce of around 31,000 employees.

Cities across the Pearl River Delta such as Foshan have also been boosting their efforts at helping manufacturers upgrade operations.

"Along with developing emerging strategic industries, we are moving forward in industrial and technology transformation and upgrading to boost the manufacturing sector," said Liu Yuelun, the Party chief of Foshan.

As a result, investment in technological transformation by companies in Foshan accounted for 2.6 percent of its GDP last year.

Foshan's traditional manufacturing businesses - dominated by furniture, textiles, food and beverages, and ceramics - accounted for 70 percent of its industrial output last year.

"A growing number of companies are benefiting from this technology transformation," Liu said, adding that city officials are planning up to 2.4 billion yuan in technology investment within the next three years.

Contact the writer at qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn