China has strong demand for robots, but locally produced robots took up only 26.7% of its demand in 2015. Too meet the demand, China firms have geared up development of robots with government incentives in recent years and the use of robots has extended from manufacturing to other sectors. But the development of China's robot industry faces two risks: over investment in low-end robots with low added values, and consequently oversupply, according to Digitimes Research.
The "Made in China 2025" initiative revealed by the government in May 2015 include robot industry in strategic industrial development, Digitimes Research indicated. Then, China's Ministry of Information Technology and Industry in July 2016 unveiled a plan for developing the robot industry which specifies 10 main types of robots and five key components as targets of development.
Since Japan- and Europe-based makers have dominated the development and supply of key components, many China-based robot makers focus on secondary development of robotic systems, customized components and after-sale services.
Siasun Robot & Automation, Effort Intelligent Equipment and GSK CNC Equipment are major China-based robot makers. Siasun has extended development and production to service robots used in home care, education and entertainment, while Shanghai PartnerX Robotics and Ubtech Robotics specialize in service robots.
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