It is predicated that China will be the largest robot user in the world by 2017; domestically-made robots will make up 45 percent of the high-end market.

The latest report released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) shows that with the rapid integration of robotics with new generation information technology including big date, cloud computing, and mobile Internet, the robot revolution will create a multi-trillion dollar market in the future. The report noted that by 2013 China had become the world's largest consumer market for industrial robots, and the number of robots used in China will reach 428,000 by 2017, making China the largest robot user in the world. At the same time, China itself is actively cultivating domestic robot manufacturers.

Robots promotion -

Create more jobs

The research and development, manufacturing and application of robots is an important gauge of a country's level of technological innovation and high-end manufacturing.

The latest market research report by IFR claims that the global robot market will show double-digit growth in the next few years.

ABB Group points out that China currently has just 30 robots per 10,000 workers employed in manufacturing industries. In contrast, the US robot usage is five times more than China, and Germany's 10 times more. IFR believes that the use of robots has not increased unemployment, but will create more jobs on the whole. The one million robots “on duty” have created three million jobs in the world, and will create one million more in the next five years.

Remain competitive -

Need to vigorously promote production automation

Gudrun Litzenberger, general secretary of IFR, said that automation is the key to improving productivity and promoting energy saving. China is the world's largest and fastest-growing consumer market, and the huge middle class has a growing demand for consumer goods, medical services and high-quality life. The automation trends in manufacturing industry will drive an increasing investment in China's robotics industry.

Colin Angle, founder and CEO of the U.S. largest robot manufacture iRobot, noted that China has a rapidly growing robot market. To remain competitive in manufacturing industry, Chinese enterprises need to vigorously promote production automation. China has proven robot manufacturing techniques and requirements, which is why iRobot chose China as a production base, said Angle.

Achieve big leap -

Promote the transition to a high value-added manufacturing industry

The British "Economist" magazine recently commented that the Chinese government is clearly aware that a high-end and high value-added manufacturing industry is needed to deal with the current challenges.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has taken a series of supporting measures; the goal is to form a complete industrial system for industrial robots, and to make sure the high-end domestic robots can make up more than 45 percent of the market share by 2020.

Litzenberger pointed out that global robot makers will face fierce competition in the next few years. China's huge market potential has provided numerous possibilities for robot development.

This article was edited and translated from 《中国机器人市场进入高速发展期》, source: People's Daily.