Robots making inroads into China's industry; 68k sold last yr

Robots are gradually taking over jobs in China's manufacturing sector, with over 68,000 industrial robots sold last year of mostly foreign brands and about 64,000 made locally this year to meet their growing demand.
Despite the rapid growth of the sector, sales are still dominated by foreign brands in China, Qu Daokui, president of the robot industry alliance and CEO of Shenyang-based Siasun Robot and Automation Co, said.
The alliance said 68,000 industrial robots were sold in China in 2015, while Chinese brands saw total sales of only 22,257 units during that year.
More than 64,000 industrial robots, including both Chinese and foreign brands, were produced in China in the first 11 months of 2016, compared to 32,996 for the entire year in 2015.

The full year's production for 2016 is expected to surpass 70,000 units, state-run China Daily quoted experts as saying.
In just the first six months of 2016, Chinese brands recorded sales of 19,257 industrial robots, it quoted the alliance as saying.

Just over 60 per cent of homemade industrial robots are used for transferring, loading and unloading materials.
Sales of such robots in 2016 surged by 94.3 per cent over the same period last year.
Some 43 per cent of industrial robots made by Chinese companies were sold in East China, one of the country's most developed areas, it said.

Sun Feng, deputy director of the ministry's Equipment Industry Department, said at the 2016 China Robot Industry Conference yesterday that China's robot industry has been hamstrung by dependence on high-end imports, innovation that has yet to catch up, unorganised and inadequate technical development, and lack of production certifications.
Also the government said China will publish standards to regulate its burgeoning robot industry while pushing for wider robotic applications in key industries.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work out standards for the industry that will cover such aspects as product quality, research and development capabilities, staff qualifications, sales practises and social responsibility, the report said.