It was impressive to hear that an acquaintance of a Korean electronics company asked about the price of a Chinese robot arm at an in-house robot exhibition and was surprised to hear that it costs 4 million won (approx. The price of a Korean robot arm is at least 20 million won (approx.

Workscene of Walker S

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It is 20 million won in Korea…”Huh? 4 million won?” China’s Robotic Industry Grows Stormy [China’s Difference]
[Editor’s note] I look at China with an uncomfortable and unfair view.

At a recent robot exhibition held at a large Korean company, an employee was surprised after asking the price of the robot arm submitted by a Chinese robot company. This is because the price of the high-quality robot arm was only 4 million won, which is not much different from the products of domestic robot companies.

For reference, the price of a robot arm with a similar performance made by a domestic robot company exceeds 20 million won. This is an anecdote that allows us to guess the degree of development and price competitiveness of the Chinese robot industry.

Industrial robots have begun to fill factories in China, a large manufacturing industry, rather than farmers (workers from rural areas). Although some of the 300 million farmers have begun to be replaced, industrial robots are becoming commonplace in the production lines of high-tech industries such as electric vehicles and batteries.

1. China accounts for half of the global industrial robot market

According to the ‘World Robotics 2023’ announced by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) in September last year, the number of global industrial robots installed in 2022 reached 553,000.

Since China topped Japan with 36,600 units in 2013, it has maintained its No. 1 position in the world for 10 consecutive years, accounting for more than half of the global industrial robot market. In 2012, China accounted for only 14% of the global industrial robot market, but in 2022, the number of installations surged to 52% and 290,000 units.

On the other hand, Japan ranked second in 2022 with around 50,000 units. The U.S. followed with 39,600 units and Korea ranked fourth with 31,700 units.

The Chinese robot industry seems to be shifting from quantitative to qualitative growth as the overall industry, from basic research to robot manufacturing, is becoming more mature. One example of this is the localization rate of the industrial robot market in China. According to China’s Kao Gong Robot Industry Research Institute, the proportion of domestic products in the industrial robot market in China rose from 24.5 percent in 2013 to 52.5 percent in 2023, exceeding 50 percent for the first time.

There are two factors that contribute to the rapid increase in demand for industrial robots in China. The first is that industries like food, beverage, and chemistry are increasing production efficiency by using industrial robots in the packaging and collection stages as well as automating factories due to the aging population and rising wages. Second, there is an increasing demand for stable, high-precision robots in the electric vehicle, bio, aerospace, and smart farm fields. In particular, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers can create an electric vehicle in a matter of seconds on a robotic production line.

A good example is the humanoid robot “Walker S” made by UBTECH, a Chinese robot company. “Walker S” is testing its practical application by assembling cars and inspecting quality at the production line of Chinese electric car maker Nio. While Hyundai Motor and Tesla are competing to put humanoid robots into production lines, China is also taking a quick step.

Considering the speed of development of the artificial intelligence (AI) and robot industries, it is highly likely that Chinese humanoid robots will be put into automobile production lines within a few years.

2. Korea at No. 1 Robot Density, China Chases

Korea has the highest proportion of robots in the manufacturing industry in the world. Korea ranked first in terms of robot density, which refers to the number of industrial robots introduced per 10,000 manufacturing workers, with 1,012 units in 2022. Singapore ranked second with 730 units, while manufacturing powerhouses Germany and Japan ranked third and fourth with 415 and 397, respectively. The global average is 151.

China ranked fifth with 392 units. The density of robots in China is less than 40 percent of Korea, but the number of robots installed is much higher than in Korea because the number of manufacturing workers is dozens of times higher than in Korea. In 2022, China installed 290,000 robots for industrial use, far ahead of Korea (31,700).

Although it will be difficult for China, which has many labor-intensive industries such as toys and clothing, to outpace Korea in overall robot density, it is expected to achieve robot density equivalent to that of Korea in high-tech manufacturing industries such as electric vehicles. In fact, China has proposed a goal of increasing the density of robots to 500 by 2025, twice that of 2020 in the robot industry of the 14th Five-Year Development Plan (2021-2025).

Why has the Chinese robot industry developed so much? Cheng Hufeng, the head of the automobile business at SIASUN, one of the largest robot companies in China, suggested four reasons. The first is industrial upgrade. The Chinese government’s policy support is indispensable. In 2015, the Chinese government announced its manufacturing upgrade strategy called “Made in China 2025,” raising the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) related technologies to the national strategy. Over the past 10 years, the Chinese robot industry has become standardized, informatized, and smart, and robot companies are making progress.

Second, due to the aging population and the rise in the minimum wage, it is difficult for companies to find skilled workers, and the overall demand for robots has increased as high wages have to be paid even if they find skilled workers. Third, factory automation has accelerated in many industries since the outbreak of COVID-19. Companies that have succeeded in automation conversion have not needed to hire many workers, and the flexibility and stability of production capacity and quality have improved significantly.

Lastly, as the production cost of industrial robots fell, the investment recovery period for companies that introduced robots was drastically shortened. Like the aforementioned 4 million won robot arm, more and more robots are being put into factories in China as the price of robots goes down.