Workers at an export-oriented mobile phone parts enterprise in Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo/China Daily]

According to the local government, Dongguan's economy grew 8 percent year-on-year to 628 billion yuan in 2015, outpacing the national average of 6.9 percent.

"Innovation-driven industries are playing a bigger role in promoting the growth of the local economy as there is a rising number of technology companies in the city," said Xu.

In addition to the development of e-commerce and the introduction of smart equipment and foreign investment with advanced technology, Dongguan also aims to upgrade various businesses in its townships by boosting innovation and technology.

For example, the government of Hengli township, which is home to around 1,000 industrial mould manufacturers, has launched an innovation project with initial investment of around 205 million yuan to help upgrade local business.

Dongguan, in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, has 32 townships and districts, with each strongly focusing on a specified manufacturing sector such as electronic components, shoes, furniture, garments or mobile phones.

The Hengli project, in cooperation with tertiary education institutions, such as Shanghai Jiaotong University, has become a major platform connecting traditional mould-making processes with innovative technologies such as 3D printing.

Taking the innovation-driven approach, the project aims to push the mould production value to 20 billion yuan by 2018, according to the local government.

Since the project was launched in 2012, several sub-platforms including a mould testing technology center and a mould industrial park and professional associations including a 3D printing union and a machinery tooling society have been set up in Hengli.

Powered by the project, the township's mould industrial output value grew from 4.6 billion yuan in 2011 to 8.5 billion yuan in 2014, according to the government.

The local government provided free office space to innovative companies such as Dongguan Sprintray 3D Printing Co, whose MoonRay printer has become a big hit in the global market.