Robot Tianyi, white, stands with silver black Tiangong 1.2 MAX robots at the World Robot Conference 2024 on August 22, 2024. Tianyi is 163 centimeters tall, and as a service robot it can identify emotions and interact with people. Tiangong 1.2 MAX, 173 centimeters tall, can carry heavier items, walk faster and longer compared with its previous version 1.1 PRO. Photo: VCG

 
China's emergence as a leader in the global robotics industry has been put on vivid display at the ongoing World Robot Conference 2024 held in Beijing, where Chinese companies showed their latest technologies and advanced products designed for a wide range of areas from manufacturing to healthcare. 

At the conference, many Chinese and foreign industry leaders highlighted China's remarkable achievements in the robotics industry, as it has been the world's biggest industrial robot market for 11 consecutive years. They also noted the vast potential in growing application scenarios that will create huge opportunities for cooperation. 

As part of its broader push for technological innovation and new quality productive forces, China will continue to strengthen research and development in the robotics industry, which will in turn help accelerate the digitalization transition and boost high-quality development, experts said on Thursday. 

The World Robot Conference 2024 officially kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday and will run through Sunday. In the exhibition halls of the conference, the vitality of the Chinese robotics industry is palpable, as a slew of Chinese start-ups are showcasing their latest technologies and products. 

At the booth of Chinese firm Longwood Valley MedTech, robot arms were demonstrating how to assist doctors on conducting osteotomy surgery. 

Zhao Xin, marketing manager of surgical robot company Longwood Valley, told the Global Times that  robots are more precise in cutting bones compared with doctors, with errors within sub-millimeter range. At present, the robot arms set has been permitted to sell as medical equipment, and some large hospitals have put the set into clinic trial, said Zhao.

Another Chinese firm MedBot showed a robotic endoscope surgery machine, through which operator can control the robot arms from a nearby console to perform minimally invasive surgery. 

A representative from the company told the Global Times that with the help of 5G technology, doctors can perform remote surgeries across provinces and cities, and many hospitals have already purchased the equipment.

These are just some examples of advanced robots manufactured by Chinese companies, with many incorporating emerging technologies in which the country has become a leader, including 5G and artificial intelligence (AI), experts said. 

Juha Röning, vice president of euRobotics and professor of embedded system at the University of Oulu in Finland, said the development of China's robotics industry is promising, attributing the positive trend to academic collaboration and sufficient talented researchers.

"There are many [Chinese] companies producing different components, and their quality is good with a reasonable price tag," Röning told the Global Times on the sidelines of the World Robot Conference. 

Meanwhile, many foreign robotics companies are also keen to enter or expand in the Chinese market. Li Changzhe, robotics department manager of South Korean automation system provider BRILS Corp, told the Global Times that China's robotics technological capability has surpassed that of South Korea's, but there are different market environment and demands in different countries, so there is room for exchanges between the two countries in the robotics field.

Such optimism about the Chinese robotics industry is largely due to rapid development in the country, thanks to a broad drive for technological innovation and industrial upgrade, experts said. 

"The economic transition toward smartization and digitalization has led to an acceleration in the growth speed of China's robotics industry," Liu Gang, chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation AI Development Strategies, told the Global Times on Thursday, noting the increasing adoption of robots in various industries including manufacturing.    

Global leader 

China's industrial robot market in particular has become the biggest highlight and accounted more than half of the world's newly installed industrial robots in the past three years, the Economic Information Daily reported on Thursday. 

"This demonstrated that China has maintained a pivotal position in the global industrial robot market," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

In addition to the vast market scale, Chinese robotics companies have also made great strides in innovation. "China's industrial robots have made remarkable achievements in technological innovation, with domestic companies continuing to make breakthroughs in core technologies and improve product performance," Wang said.

China's growing role in global robotics technological innovation, application expansion and industry governance has also been reflected in new data released at the ongoing World Robot Conference. China has more than 190,000 relevant valid patents, accounting for about two-thirds of the global share, the Economic Information Daily report said, citing data from the conference. 

Robots play a critical role in China's efforts to boost technological innovation, foster new quality productive forces and promote high-quality development, experts said. 

"Industrial robots are a significant driving force for the Chinese economy, and their support for the manufacturing industry is particularly prominent," Wang said, pointing to the improvement in efficiency and quality as well as the upgrade of China's manufacturing industry. 

Given such an important role, China will continue to promote the sound development of the robotics industry, with a focus on technological innovation as well as international cooperation, experts said.  

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the World Robot Conference on Wednesday, Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Industry and Information Technology, said China will cultivate and expand the robotics industry and contribute China's strengthen to global development.