The composition of China’s exports has begun to change rapidly, away from reliance on cheap, low-margin goods to more value-added manufactures offering much higher profits, according to a number of new reports.

While sales overseas of low-end goods are in many areas stagnating, often because China’s penetration of foreign markets is already so high, exports of telecommunications equipment, auto parts software and ships have grown by between 30 to 150 per cent since 2005, according to a Deutsche Bank report.