British firms have much to offer and much to gain from China's plan to modernize its manufacturing sector, according to a recent report released by the China-Britain Business Council.

The "Made in China 2025" plan is a highly ambitious initiative to comprehensively upgrade, consolidate and balance China's manufacturing industry, and it offers plenty of opportunities for British firms, the report said.

"We see the next stage of China's emergence as an economic superpower in its ambition to design and make products of the future required not only by Chinese consumers, but consumers around the world," said Mark Wareing, director of Advanced Manufacturing and Transport with UK Trade and Investment China at the British embassy in China.