US manufacturer Rockwell Automation Inc expects its China sales to grow over 30 percent this year and says the world financial crisis is having a minimal impact on its operations here.

The manufacturer's growth rate in China will be more than 30 percent through the end of the year, according to Bruce Quinn, Rockwell's chief representative in China. Last year he forecast sales would rise around 20 percent in 2007 and 2008.

He declined to give specific figures but said China is the largest market in the Asia Pacific and the fastest growing area for Rockwell.

"The financial crisis in the United States is having very little impact on us in Asia Pacific today. The business fundamentals in Asia, particularly in China and India as well as other fast-growing markets here, are extremely solid," he said in a phone interview.

Rockwell, which competes with Siemens and ABB, recently announced it would cut 600 jobs, or 3 percent of its global workforce, to reduce costs. Quinn said the plan will have no immediate affect on its 1,500 employees in China.

While traditional heavy industry customers like power plants and steel mills remain a significant part of its China business, there has been a strong growth in the emerging consumer industries, Quinn said.