Cooperation with domestic and international science and technology companies and a transformation focusing on high-tech industries have helped Dongguan, an important manufacturing and trade hub in Guangdong province, to upgrade its traditional industries, said a local official.

In an interview with China Daily during the China (Dongguan) International Science and Technology Week, Xian Zhou'en, director of the Dongguan Economy and Information Bureau, said the city's industrial output and exports have held up in the years since the financial crisis in 2008.

He attributed that outcome to Dongguan's efforts to transform its economy from one with a labor-intensive manufacturing sector to one emphasizing advanced technology.