Robotics in China has been on a steep upward trajectory for years. To ensure that it stays that way, the Chinese government is setting up a multi-billion fund.
Robots made in Switzerland are in demand in China. Pictured here are two examples of the GRx model from the Chinese supplier Fourier.
Fourier Intelligence
China is setting up a publicly funded venture capital fund for robotics, artificial intelligence and cutting-edge innovation. The aim is for local governments and the private sector to raise the equivalent of around 128 billion euros over a period of twenty years. With this initiative, the People's Republic aims to continue its development in the field of robotics: Within ten years, China has increased its global share of installed industrial robots from about one-fifth to more than half of total global demand, according to a report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
According to the report, the share of industrial robots installed by Chinese suppliers in their domestic market rose from 30% in 2020 to 47% in 2023. In the same year, almost two-thirds of all industrial robots in the global electronics industry were installed in China alone. Chinese manufacturers supplied 54% of all units. In the domestic metal industry and in mechanical engineering, the Chinese robot industry now even has a market share of 85%.
“Unprecedented Speed”
“China has succeeded in modernizing its own manufacturing industry at an unprecedented pace,” says IFR President Takayuki Ito. With the national robotics strategy published in December 2021, the country is demonstrating how the competitiveness of an economy can be systematically strengthened.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dietmar Ley, Chairman of VDMA Robotics + Automation, warns that Europe must not be left behind in humanoid robotics. It is “crucial that humanoid robots leave research laboratories and are produced in a scalable way at competitive conditions.” To ensure this, a coordinated approach is needed.
This is a partly automated translation of this german article.
