Chinese manufacturers should shift the focus to quality from quantity in equipment exports and expand joint production overseas, to boost efficiency in the slowing economy, said a report put up on a government site on Monday citing Premier Li Keqiang.

"With rising labor costs and increasing constraints of resources, the ’volume in and volume out’ model is no longer sustainable," a report posted on the central government’s website quoted Li as saying at an equipment seminar.

Companies shall instead focus on "quality in and quality out," importing top-notch technology and key equipment that are short in China and exporting high value-added products in a "full-chain" that also includes expertise and services, Li said.

"Companies must not only compete in the domestic market... to compete head-on with multinational players will force us to enhance quality and services," the premier was quoted as saying.

Chinese manufacturers shall also place an emphasis on exporting "investment products," away from an earlier focus on consumer goods, said Li.