A worker from South Korean BRILS Corp checks exhibition equipment at the 2024 World Robot Conference held on August 21, 2024 in Beijing. Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

A total of 11 South Korea robotic companies made presence at the 2024 World Robot Conference held in Beijing at an exhibition pavilion for the first time, as they eye closer robot collaboration between the two countries.

Li Changzhe, the robotic department manager of South Korean automation system provider BRILS Corp, told the Global Times they plan to promote products in China and see how the Chinese market will react, while seeking more cooperation opportunities with Chinese firms.

"Many factories in South Korea are now using Chinese-made robots," Li said, noting that the market environment and demands of each country are different, and there is room for communication and cooperation between China and South Korea.

Li's remarks echoed another South Korean company CYGBOT Co, focusing on laser radar. Lee Hyunmin, CEO of CYGBOT, told the Global Times that Chinese and South Korean robot companies have their own areas of expertise, and they can create more cooperation opportunities for mutual development through exchanges. 

South Korean media outlets reported that the country has become a major export market of Chinese-made robots. In addition, over 70 percent of service robots in use in South Korea were imported from China in 2023. 

At the beginning of 2024, BRILS Corp signed a cooperation agreement with a leading Chinese robot maker to import components from China to South Korea, export integrated products to overseas market including the US.

Lee noted that China has exported robots to South Korea, and at the same time, he hoped that South Korean robots can also enter Chinese market.

Official data showed that China has been the world's largest industrial robot market for 11 consecutive years, with the newly installed robot capacity in the past three years accounting for more than half of the global total. The density of manufacturing robots has reached 470 units per 10,000 workers, an increase of nearly 19 times in the past decade.