Tech bringing new life to common materials

As Chinese firms push cutting-edge technology, such as cloud computing and self-driving cars, and look to raise product quality, there will be even more opportunities for material suppliers to sell to the world's biggest market, said the head of 3M China, a conglomerate manufacturer.

"We think China has the opportunity to achieve early breakthroughs ... especially when it relates to scaling it up," Stephen Shafer, president of 3M China, told China Daily during the recent China International Import Expo.

Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co, today Forbes ranks 3M as the United States' 97th biggest company by revenue.