Once a symbol of the future in science fiction films, robots are now transforming into a core force driving industrial upgrading and social change in the real world. Vigorously developing the robot industry and building a secure and controllable industrial chain and supply chain system is not only a powerful lever for promoting the high-quality development of China’s real economy under the current intricate international situation but also a solid support for implementing the holistic approach to national security. Over the years, thanks to sustained policy support, strong market demand, and the relentless efforts of all practitioners, the comprehensive strength of China’s robot industry has achieved a leapfrog improvement. Looking ahead, with the deepening of intelligent manufacturing and the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the China robot industry is accelerating into a new intelligent stage.
1. Robots Become a Critical Arena in Global Technology Competition and Economic Growth
The development, manufacturing, and application of robots have become important indicators for measuring a country’s level of technological innovation, manufacturing prowess, and intelligent societal development. Major developed economies such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea have formulated and continuously updated their robot development plans, treating the advancement of the robot industry as a vital strategy to seize the high ground of innovation and revitalize manufacturing. They aim to leverage robot technology to offset cost pressures from rising labor prices, cope with fierce market competition, and promote “the return of manufacturing.” For instance:
- The United States released its latest 2024 Robotics Roadmap, focusing on three themes: AI integration, addressing labor shortages, and sustainable development, and proposed eight research directions including physical embodiment, perception and control, edge AI, and human-robot interaction.
- Germany introduced the Research and Innovation Framework Programme for Technological Sovereignty by 2030, promoting AI-driven robotics and prioritizing funding for research in electronics, sensor technology, communication technology, and AI technologies that enhance robot performance.
- Japan, in its third-phase Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), proposed to build foundational and application development technologies necessary for “Human – AI Robot – Information Systems” (HCPS).
- South Korea unveiled the Fourth Intelligent Robot Action Plan (2024-2028), aiming to deploy 1 million robots across manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, services, defense, public safety, and healthcare by 2030.
This global race underscores the strategic importance of the robotics sector, where the China robot industry is poised to play an increasingly influential role.
2. China Emerges as a Pillar Supporting Global Robot Industry Development
China is playing an increasingly vital role in the global robot industry, having maintained its position as the world’s largest application market for industrial robots for 12 consecutive years. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China firmly held its place as the largest global market in 2024 with a commanding share of 54.4%. The latest data shows sales reached 295,000 units, setting a new annual record. In 2024, the installed base of industrial robots in the China market surpassed 2 million units, ranking first globally.
2.1 Independent Innovation Builds Core Competitiveness
Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex global industrial chain security environment, China has vigorously guided enterprises to increase R&D investment, tackle core technological challenges, and accelerate product iteration and innovation. The performance of robot products continues to improve, their variety is expanding, and international competitiveness is steadily strengthening. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2024, China’s industrial robot production reached 556,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 14.2%; service robot production reached 10.519 million units, up 15.6% year-on-year. Customs data indicates that the export value of robot equipment reached 8.162 billion yuan, a surge of 45.77% year-on-year, marking an accelerated pace in overseas market expansion.
Industrial robot enterprises in China are accelerating their shift from generalized competition to deep cultivation in segmented scenarios, focusing on industry pain points and launching new products that better fit specific needs, demonstrating growing independent innovation capabilities. For example:
- Estun, targeting heavy-duty application fields like aerospace, new energy vehicles, and heavy equipment manufacturing, launched the ER1200-3300 six-axis robot with a payload of up to 1200kg, achieving breakthroughs in key technologies such as dual-motor synchronous control, dual-reducer hard synchronization, and overall lightweight design.
- Canop, addressing common problems in traditional welding like part deformation, burn-through, and spatter, deeply integrated the advanced Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) process with high-performance industrial robots to develop an integrated cold welding robot.
In service robots, product intelligence levels and operational capabilities are steadily improving, with numerous products exported to regions including Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Examples include:
- WeLan Engine released a laser weeding and thinning robot product employing a range-extender solution, endowing the robot with high steering precision, a small turning radius, and fast response.
- Beijing Tinghao Agriculture & Animal Husbandry Technology Co., Ltd. introduced the “Zhi Tan Zhe” intelligent backfat measuring robot for breeding sows, incorporating advanced AI visual analysis technology to achieve unmanned B-ultrasound backfat measurement.
- Deepinfar Ocean independently developed the kilometer-level ROV product Dolphin III-A, capable of meeting inspection needs in different sea areas and scenarios.
The progress in the China robot sector is evident not only in production numbers but also in technological sophistication.
| Metric | 2024 Data | Year-on-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Robot Production | 556,000 units | 14.2% |
| Service Robot Production | 10,519,000 units | 15.6% |
| Robot Equipment Export Value | 8.162 billion yuan | 45.77% |
| Industrial Robot Installed Base | Over 2 million units | N/A (Cumulative) |
2.2 Application Scenarios Expand from Factories to Diverse Industries
With continuous technological advancement, various types of robots are being applied more widely across the economic and social landscape. From fields to production lines, warehouses to hospital wards, and deep sea to outer space, they are gradually becoming capable assistants in people’s production and lives. According to IFR statistics, in 2024, China’s manufacturing robot density reached 567 units per 10,000 employees, ranking third among all countries and regions and more than three times the global average.
In the industrial manufacturing sector, China robot enterprises continue to hone their “internal skills,” and downstream recognition of domestic brands is increasing. Independent brand industrial robots are gradually entering high-end application scenarios like automotive整车 manufacturing. For instance:
- Efort’s spot welding robots, arc welding robots, painting robots, and general-purpose robots have secured bulk orders from leading domestic new energy vehicle manufacturers.
- Huashu Robot’s heavy-load robots have seen hundreds of applications in processes such as die casting, welding, painting, and final assembly at Changan Automobile’s digital-intelligent factory.
In industries characterized by small batches and non-standard parts, such as steel structure, shipbuilding and offshore engineering, and construction machinery, independent brand robots from China have also demonstrated strong performance. Examples include:
- The C-Tower project at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base utilized flexible welding robots from China Construction Steel Structure, improving welding efficiency of steel components by approximately 30%.
- The portable welding automation solution released by Dobot has been deployed at a shipbuilding enterprise in East China. It can be flexibly positioned anywhere on the ship hull to achieve high-quality welding for different ship structures and diverse components.
In non-industrial scenarios, robots are also accelerating their deployment, continuously opening up new incremental market spaces. Particularly in positions with high safety risks, technical difficulties, or high labor intensity, robots are systematically replacing manual work:
- The world’s first low-temperature-resistant automatic hydrogen refueling robot completed commissioning and officially started “work” at the National Energy Group’s heavy-haul railway hydrogen refueling research demonstration station, realizing automated hydrogen refueling at the end-user point.
- China Railway Construction Electrification Bureau Group Southern Company’s Ningbo Metro maintenance project introduced an intelligent cleaning robot for cleaning contact net insulators, improving efficiency and ensuring operational safety.
- Sichuan Power Grid utilized a “drone + de-icing robot” combination to complete ice removal operations on the overhead ground wire of a high-voltage direct current transmission project.
These applications highlight the expanding footprint of the China robot industry across千行百业 (a myriad of industries).
3. Seizing Epochal Opportunities: Charting the High-Quality Development Path for China’s Robot Industry
Currently, breakthroughs in new technologies such as large models and embodied intelligence are accelerating and deeply integrating with robot technology. Robots are rapidly evolving from “functional equipment” primarily executing repetitive, programmed tasks into “intelligent partners” equipped with perception, decision-making, and autonomous capabilities. In this process, China possesses unique advantages including rich application scenarios, massive application data, and a vast pool of engineers. Emerging technologies are accelerating the empowerment of robot intelligent development,有望 significantly enhancing their operational capabilities in complex, unstructured environments. For example:
- In control: Through end-to-end multimodal large model training and learning, robots can achieve control over complex operational tasks.
- In perception: By combining vision, hearing, touch, and other sensing methods, robots can achieve multimodal understanding and fusion of the operating environment through multimodal learning and perception.
- In decision-making: Robots can utilize reinforcement learning, planning learning, etc., to achieve autonomous decision-making and task planning.
Simultaneously,伴随着 new technological breakthroughs, cost-effectiveness is expected to improve. While achieving intelligence, the cost of robots may decrease. Enhanced usability and economic feasibility are有望 to accelerate the penetration rate of robots.
The “14th Five-Year Plan” period has laid a solid foundation for the development of China’s robot industry, forming a development pattern with leading scale and a complete system. Facing the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, China will enter a critical stage of consolidating the foundation and exerting comprehensive efforts for basically realizing socialist modernization. As a typical representative of intelligent equipment, the strategic significance of robots is becoming increasingly prominent. They are not only a key lever for promoting technological self-reliance and developing new quality productive forces but also a core engine for promoting the digital transformation of manufacturing, developing intelligent and green manufacturing, and realizing industrial model transformation. Furthermore, the extensive application of robots in serving people’s livelihoods is becoming an important support for improving the quality of life and building a beautiful China. Their value permeates multiple dimensions from industrial production to social life, comprehensively empowering the process of Chinese-style socialist modernization.
The tide of the robot industry surges forward incessantly, and we stand at a historic intersection. Under the rapidly changing international landscape, only by firmly mastering key core technologies in our own hands can we truly grasp the initiative in competition and development. Precisely because of this, achieving high-quality industrial development for the China robot industry is destined to be a process of阶梯式递进 (progressive steps) and continuous evolution, requiring persistent effort and sustained struggle. It is on this path that the China robot industry will ultimately write its own splendid chapter on the global stage.