Experts: Restructure to meet tomorrow's challenges

In a tough economic climate with business costs rising and the "demographic dividend" on the wane, both policymakers and companies in China need to fight an uphill battle to restructure, according to leading scholars.

Cai Fang, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics at the China Academy of Social Sciences, said the transfer of labor-intensive industries from coastal areas to cheaper inland provinces has been underway since 2004, but policymakers need to do it right when riding the trend.

"The western and central regions are competitive in labor costs, however I'm concerned some local governments in these regions may not be playing the right role as they foster capital-intensive projects," said Ca.