Experts say it's now time to re-tool the 'world's factory'

China should accelerate innovation to support growth rather than remaining the "world's factory", though its traditional manufacturing role does help the country remain a leading driver of the world economy, said experts at the Summer Davos Forum that began in Tianjin on Tuesday.

Manufacturing has long been China's major strength, but that can be replicated elsewhere, Bhaskar Chakravorti, an economist at Tufts University in the United States, said on the sidelines of the annual event.

Some foreign investors have already moved their manufacturing bases to other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and India where labor costs are lower.