Global players adapt to 'new normal' model

A slowdown in China is forcing multinational companies to treat the world's second-largest economy more like a developed market.

This has involved turning away from the headlong dash for growth to focus on premium businesses as well as improving productivity by investing in staff.

As the main driver of global growth for much of the past decade, China has been a godsend to big international firms looking to boost profits as economies elsewhere struggled.