BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- International industrial software giant AVEVA is ready to tap the huge potential unleashed by China's industrial upgrading drive, as a growing number of firms embrace digital solutions to optimize their performance.

"I believe the manufacturing industry, which includes fields like semiconductor and discrete manufacturing and even consumer products, will continue to have a big opportunity for AVEVA," Emon Zaman, senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific at AVEVA, told Xinhua.

Zaman noted that Chinese companies are already very competitive in the manufacturing sector, and are seeking the next level of efficiency by using state-of-the-art technologies.

"China is one of the very key markets for us because China has been leading the world when it comes to manufacturing," said Naveen Kumar, vice president for chemicals, natural resources and manufacturing industry segments at AVEVA.

The UK-headquartered company has been operating in the Chinese market for 28 years, offering customized efficiency-boosting solutions for a wide range of customers in industries such as petrochemicals, power and shipbuilding.

China, the world's largest manufacturer, is accelerating its efforts to advance new industrialization, promote the growth and expansion of advanced manufacturing clusters, and make the manufacturing sector higher-end, smarter and more eco-friendly.

Industrial software plays an indispensable role in China's process of new industrialization, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). With the support of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the sector is trying to offer all-around, whole-process and full-chain high-level intelligence for industrial operation.

Kumar said the company has used AI-empowered industrial software to improve quality and efficiency of production in several sectors, including life sciences. Digital twin technology has also been applied in various dimensions ranging from engineering to operations and supply chains.

In certain specialized markets within the digital realm, Chinese enterprises are engaging in pioneering attempts and explorations, observed Cui Jingyi, vice president and general manager of AVEVA China.

"We sometimes receive specific demands from Chinese clients that are highly forward-looking and do not have ready-made solutions. In such cases, effective collaboration and interaction between both parties become crucial," she said.

The company last year opened a customer experience center in Beijing, the fifth of its kind globally -- which can collect and synthesize customer feedback to optimize development and prioritize investment in new capabilities.

Cui said China's promotion of new quality productive forces is driving a new wave of innovation in several industries, which offers an enabling ecosystem for companies like AVEVA that are keen to cooperate and thrive in their relationships with Chinese partners.

China is expected to complete the upgrading and replacement of approximately 2 million sets of industrial software and 800,000 sets of industrial operating systems by 2027, according to a plan released by the MIIT.

Zaman, meanwhile, also noted that a growing number of their Chinese clients are building new factories all around the world, and said the company can be a facilitator and beneficiary of this quest to go global.

"China is important for AVEVA, not just because of China, but also because of the global influence that China has around the world," Zaman said.