'Don't see China as a quick fix'

The CBBC also said the shift from agricultural to urban living in China is helping to create a massive market of consumers, but it cautioned Yorkshire firms against seeing the emerging superpower as a quick fix for the faltering markets in the UK.

Giles Blackburne, a Leeds-based director, said: "China was undergoing a slump because there was a fall in global demand. The government decided to introduce a fiscal stimulus package at the end of 2008. This was about investment in infrastructure, particularly in central and western regions.

"It is likely the government will switch from infrastructure towards education and health as a way of making people less conscious that they have to save for misfortune.

"Saving for misfortune is an embedded cultural trait but it is the degree to which people save that the government is worried about.

"If they can put in robust health and education provision then people might spend more."

Stewart Ferguson, an adviser at the CBBC, said the economic investment would present opportunities for UK firms, particularly those which provide consumer services and consumer products.

Britain does not face such strong competition in these sectors, unlike manufacturing where the UK lies sixth in the world.

The CBBC urged Yorkshire businesses to do their homework before considering a move and said they should be prepared to meet the demands of an increasingly discerning Chinese market.

Mr Blackburne and Mr Ferguson presented an event yesterday on effective sourcing and supply chain management in China, hosted at law firm DLA Piper's office in Leeds.