Manufacturing sector reaches critical juncture

Closures, overseas investments illustrate plight facing local factories

Now is not a good time to be a Chinese factory owner. According to recent media reports, a growing number of local manufacturers are opening plants in the US as they seek to avoid the badge that comes with selling "Made in China" products.

Meanwhile, many other local factories are struggling with labor shortages, rising costs, overcapacity problems and thinning demand. In response to such pressures, low-end manufacturers are increasingly investing in Southeast Asia, where production costs are more competitive.

Both of these trends signal the need for change in China's manufacturing sector. Over recent decades, Chinese factories have become synonymous with low-quality, low-value-added products. Local manufacturers need to shake off this image by moving up the production chain. And with China's GDP slowdown weighing on the country's industrial sector, the need to advance is more pressing than ever.

According to reports, several of China's largest and historically most successful manufacturing enterprises have not been immune to the challenges brought by changing times. Silitech Technology Co, a major supplier for Nokia, has suspended production since November. At its peak, the Suzhou-based company had more than 10,000 employees, but has reportedly struggled since Nokia sold off its handset division to Microsoft last year.

In December, United Win Technology Co, also in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, announced its closure due to a financial crisis. It had previously been a major supplier for Apple Inc and had also cooperated with Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi. The company's closure is said to have left more than 2,000 workers unemployed.

Similar shutdowns are also said to be plaguing many of China's traditional manufacturing hubs - including Dongguan, Guangdong Province, and Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Of course, not all of the worries facing factory bosses are bad. Improvements in Chinese labor laws have made workers more willing to fight for better pay and conditions. For instance, upwards of 2,000 workers at Yue Yuen, a shoe factory in Dongguan, reportedly protested recently in front of the company's gate for greater social security benefits. Yue Yuen is an assembler and producer for a host of big-name global brands, including Reebok, New Balance, Puma and Timberland.

But while China's manufacturing sector has been expanding at a rapid clip for decades, most local factories remain at the bottom of the technological food chain, where they subsist on rock-bottom unit pricing and outdated technologies. Without upgrades and reforms, producers will become even more marginalized. Those who cannot adapt will be weeded out by the market.

Chinese planners have suggested that the country's path toward a "new normal" pattern of development will necessitate greater innovation in the manufacturing sector. In a report issued Tuesday, research firm IDC described the agonies facing Chinese factory owners, while also putting forward predictions for the year ahead. During 2015, analysts at IDC foresee - among other things - the rise of intelligent factories, cloud computing and industrial robots (the latter of which could soon put many low-skilled Chinese workers out of jobs).

Chinese manufacturers will have to pursue these and other technological innovations if they want to stay in business. Fortunately, China is rapidly emerging as a research powerhouse. In 2012, the country overtook the European Union in terms of research spending as a percentage of GDP, according to a report issued in 2014 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The need to transform through innovation and research is particularly great among manufacturers focused on the highly competitive consumer market. If given the choice, many Chinese will purchase Japanese or South Korean-made goods. Such products typically carry high-price tags but are widely seen as being of higher quality than Chinese-made equivalents.

Chinese manufacturers need to focus especially on technologies that will help them become more specialized. They must also build brand value through higher-grade products. Ultimately, companies will have to choose development models that conform to their own conditions. Finding the right path forward won't be easy, but sitting still in changing times is a surefire way to fail.