Chinese tourists browse rice cookers on display at a Laox Co. store in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan, on Febuary 16, 2015. [Photo/CFP]

Opportunity

Many Chinese hold a similar attitude, a fact that has hit small and medium-sized Chinese companies that have struggled to meet the growing demand for high-quality products. Yet this demand has also generated niche markets for Chinese enterprises that value customer experience and have built their reputations with trailblazing designs and products.

Daming United Rubber manufactures Aoni condoms, recognized as the world's thinnest prophylactic, and Chan said his company has strict production regulations to ensure quality.

"Our standards reach the national level or even the international level," he said, adding that to meet growing demand in the mainland market, the company is preparing to build a second production facility in Hong Kong to increase output. Last year, Daming produced more than 200 million condoms.

For other innovation-oriented companies in China, the desire among domestic consumers for high-quality goods is an opportunity to turn their cutting-edge technologies into popular products.

Technology company Hongda Hi-tech Group in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, for example, has developed a wide range of fingerprint-activated locks. One product can store and recognize 99 different sets of fingerprints and has a service life of more than three years.

"Our locks can quickly determine whether two friction ridge impressions are likely to have originated from the same individual," said Wang Xin, the company's chairman. "Leading research in fingerprint sensors has given us an unrivaled edge over our competitors."

The company's locks are now widely used in high-end hotels, residential neighborhoods and government offices throughout China, as well as exported to more than 30 countries and regions, including the United States, India, Brazil and Germany.

The key to Hongda's success lies in its years of research and development in the fingerprint identification technology, which it began in 1996.

"We believe the growing appetite for better quality products will give Hongda a push," Wang Xin said.

Contact the writers through zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn