Follow South China Morning Post, China has announced a series of ambitious goals to increase automation in manufacturing, as the country strives to lead the world in robotics in factories.
According to a five-year plan released by several government agencies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China aims to achieve at least 20% annual growth in robot sales, and develop a group of industry champions to double “robot density” in the world’s most populous place.
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Robotic arm on the production line of Great Wall Motors factory in Chongqing, China screenshot VCG/South China Morning Post |
Over the years, China has been one of the most active countries in using machines to replace human labor, partly to cope with an aging and aging workforce. narrow. According to a report from the International Federation of Robots this month, China ranked 9th in the world in terms of robot density last year, a result measured by the number of robotic units per 10,000 employees, up from 25th in the world. 5 years ago.
However, with a robot density of 246 per 10,000 employees, China still lags behind South Korea, which has a current density of 932 and has ranked first in the world since 2010. Still, China’s robot density The country as a whole is above the global average of 126 and close to the US at 255.
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As part of its latest plan for smart manufacturing, China aims to digitize 70% of domestic manufacturers by 2025. Under its own plan for the robotics industry, China wants to become a “source of innovation.” “Globally in the field of robotics, making breakthroughs in core robotics technology and high-end robotics products in the same year. The plan also states that the mainland’s overall robotics capabilities will be among the best in the world by 2035, when robots are expected to become an important part of economic development, daily life and social governance. of China.
The ambition comes as Beijing is trying to upgrade its economy amid deepening technology competition with the US. The latest five-year plan shows that the global environment is “increasingly complex” and competition “increasingly fierce”. The plan to identify the supply-demand imbalance and the stability of the supply chain is a big challenge to overcome. In addition, China’s robotics industry faces other problems, including a lack of technology accumulation, a weak industrial base, and insufficient supplies of high-end supplies.
By 2025, China wants to build at least 500 factories under the smart manufacturing model and nurture at least 150 smart manufacturing solution providers. According to a report released last month by the Center for Security and Emerging Technologies, China leads the world in robotics patents, accounting for nearly 35% of global output from 2005 to 2019. Meanwhile, the US accounted for about 13%.
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