Consumer goods giant Unilever Plc said that its newly opened global manufacturing base in Sichuan province would play a key role in its China operations and serve as a vital conduit for expansion into the third- and fourth-tier cities of the country.

Though the multinational company's sales in China fell by 20 percent in the fourth quarter, it saw a significant surge in its performance in the western part of the country, said company officials.

The new factory in Meishan, Sichuan, is the third world-class green manufacturing base of the Anglo-Dutch company in China, in addition to manufacturing units in Tianjin and Hefei, Anhui province.