Robots Help China's New Growth Strategy

China's rapid development in the field of industrial robot automation is amazing. Two years ago, the stock of operating robots exceeded the 1.5 million mark, making China the first and only country with such a large stock of industrial robots. "In 2022 alone, 290,258 units were installed, accounting for 52% of the global market. In order to meet the different needs of various industries, domestic and foreign robot suppliers have established production plants in China and continuously increased their production capacity.

Since 2010, large-scale investment in the automotive industry has stimulated demand. China has become the world's largest automobile market and the world's largest automobile production base (including electric vehicles), with strong growth potential. Since 2016, the electrical and electronics industry has replaced the automotive industry as the main customer and growth driver of China's industrial robots.

Today, the domestic Chinese market remains the largest single market for Chinese robot manufacturers: "So far, the number of robots exported by China is very limited," said Song Xiaogang, executive director and secretary general of the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA). "It has only been a few years since Chinese robots began to go abroad. According to our statistics, the total number of exported robots is less than 5%. ”

“Like any business looking for new markets, Chinese robotics companies go where there is demand for their products,” Song Xiaogang said. Typically, Chinese robotics companies set up branches by working with local partners and hiring local employees. It takes time to build brand credibility by improving technology levels and providing better services to meet the needs of foreign markets.

In some areas, such as vision systems or artificial intelligence applications, Chinese companies have advantages based on meeting the needs of China's manufacturing industry's accelerated automation. Low production costs or low costs are also one of the main advantages of Chinese robots.