China set the direction for the country's economic policy: According to the Third Plenum, Beijing will adapt to the new round of industrial transformation by using robots as an engine for growth. The success story of China's industrial robots is unique. The country is by far the largest robot market in the world. "China's rapid development in industrial robot automation is extraordinary," says Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “The operational stock surpassed the 1.5-million-unit mark two years ago, making China the first and only country with such a large industrial robot stock.” In 2022 alone, the country will install 290,258 units, representing 52 percent of the global market.
To meet this demand, domestic and international robot suppliers have set up production facilities in China and steadily increased capacity. Massive investment in the automotive industry has boosted demand since 2010. In addition to being the world's largest car market, China has become the world's largest production base for cars, including electric cars, with strong growth potential. The country is also a major producer of electronic devices, batteries, semiconductors, and microchips. Since 2016, the electrical and electronics industry has replaced the automotive industry as the main customer and growth driver of industrial robots in China. Various other industries have also started to expand their capacity with advanced automation technology.
Robots as a new growth engine
Today, China's domestic market is still the largest single market for Chinese robot manufacturers: “So far the number of exported robots from China is very limited,” says Xiaogang Song, Executive Director and Secretary-General of the China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA). “Chinese robots going abroad started only a few years ago. According to our statistics, the total number of exported robots is less than five percent".
“Like any business looking for a new market, Chinese robot companies go where there is demand for their products”, says Song. Chinese robot companies usually set up their subsidiaries by working with local partners and hiring local staff. The process of building brand credibility by raising the level of technology and providing better services to meet the needs of foreign markets will take time. In certain areas, such as vision systems or AI applications, Chinese companies have advantages based on meeting the needs of accelerating automation in China's manufacturing sectors. In addition, lower production cost or low cost is one of the main advantages of Chinese robots.
About China's "Third Plenum"
China's Central Committee convened the plenary session, or the Third Plenum, of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party on July 15-18, 2024. It is a platform for the Party leadership to announce major economic reforms and policy guidelines related to China's long-term social and economic progress.
