As economic restructuring advances and progress is made in core technologies, an increasing variety of robots—including autonomous driving systems, construction robots, and contactless medical robots—are being applied across industries. Artificial intelligence is enabling new unmanned applications, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated demand for robots suited to diverse scenarios.
Overview
China has become the world's largest robotics market. According to classifications commonly used in the electronics and robotics sectors, robots are categorized as industrial robots, service robots, and special-purpose robots. Data indicate the Chinese robotics market reached RMB 84 billion in 2021, with industrial robots accounting for RMB 44.6 billion (53%), service robots RMB 30.3 billion (36%), and special-purpose robots RMB 9.1 billion (11%).
Regional distribution: Pearl River Delta leads, Shenzhen ahead
Major global robotics manufacturers such as Fanuc and ABB have established production bases in China. From 2013, China became the world's largest industrial robot application market; between 2013 and 2018, annual sales of industrial robots in China grew at a compound annual growth rate of 33%. By 2020, China remained the largest robot consumer.
Domestic robotics companies have also expanded rapidly with policies encouraging independent innovation and domestic substitution. Notable domestic names include Estun (002747), Inovance Technology (300124), Efort (688165), Kanope, and Bozhilin. According to MIR statistics, the localization rate in China's industrial robot sector reached 29% in 2020.
Company registration data show a large increase in robotics-related enterprises over recent years: 13,632 in 2015, more than 20,000 in 2016, and 43,352 in 2019. As of the latest counts, approximately 212,600 robotics-related companies are active and registered in China.
Robotics companies are concentrated in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanghai. Guangdong has the largest number, about 55,000 companies (25.87% of the national total); Jiangsu follows with 28,800 companies (13.55%); Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanghai have more than 10,000 robotics-related companies each, at about 17,200, 16,600, and 11,700 respectively. Guangdong accounts for roughly one quarter of national robotics firms and is a major cluster.
Within Guangdong, 12 cities have intelligent robotics industries. Shenzhen's intelligent robotics industry has the largest value added, reaching RMB 6.15 billion and accounting for 80.7% of the province's intelligent robotics output. Other significant cities include Dongguan (8%), Huizhou (4.1%), and Foshan (2.9%). The Pearl River Delta, and Shenzhen in particular, are the primary regional concentrations of the provincial intelligent robotics industry.
Foshan has shown rapid progress in recent years. In 2017 Midea Group announced an offer to acquire German robotics firm KUKA for RMB 29.2 billion. KUKA, along with ABB, Fanuc, and Yaskawa, is often cited among the major industrial robot manufacturers with strong positions in certain core components.
In 2018 Midea publicly outlined plans to invest in KUKA China businesses and to form joint ventures to expand in industrial robots, medical applications, and warehousing automation. In the same year, Country Garden established a wholly owned subsidiary, Guangdong Bozhilin Robotics Co., to focus on R&D, production, and application of construction robots, targeting large-scale use in construction processes.
Bozhilin has advanced from initial R&D and small-batch production toward engineering testing, services, and commercial-scale deployment, developing end-to-end planning and practices for construction robotics. The company reported submitting 3,461 patent applications with 1,640 grants as of late 2021, and its R&D products have received multiple design and patent recognitions.
Overall, the geographic distribution of robotics enterprises closely follows regional economic development. Regions with strong economic bases such as the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta are likely to maintain leadership in robotics.
Industry distribution: Automotive and electronics dominate; construction shows large potential
Globally, industrial robots account for more than 43% of the robotics market and service robots about 37%, together making up over 80% of market share. The International Federation of Robotics reports that the number of industrial robots operating in factories worldwide has exceeded 2.7 million units. China is the largest and fastest-growing market for robots.
Industry distribution of robotics-related companies in China shows concentration in wholesale and retail (34.7%), scientific research and technical services (23.0%), manufacturing (15.1%), and information transmission, software, and IT services (13.7%). Education and construction account for smaller shares at 2.2% and 1.6% respectively.
Automotive and electronics remain the largest application sectors for robots, with numerous participants and relatively mature technologies. In 2010 the market was dominated by automotive applications. With the rapid development of 5G and new energy sectors, robot application scenarios have continued to expand downstream. In industrial robots in 2020, auto parts, metal products, complete vehicles, and home appliances together accounted for 41% of installations, more than 90% of which were articulated (multi-joint) robots. Electronics, lithium batteries, and photovoltaics accounted for 38%, with about 70% SCARA robots and 30% articulated robots.
As robot technology progresses and cost-effectiveness improves, adoption in construction, metal fabrication, food and beverage, and other industries is rising. Bozhilin has developed 12 construction robot product lines, including concrete placing, concrete finishing, bricklaying and plastering, and interior wall finishing; many systems are applicable to both cast-in-place and prefabricated construction. The company is exploring solutions that cover the construction lifecycle.
In early 2021 Chinese authorities approved smart construction pilots, selecting projects in Shanghai, Chongqing, and Guangdong. A project in Shunde, Foshan became one of the first commercial applications of construction robots by Bozhilin. As of November 2021, Bozhilin reported 18 construction robot models in commercial use across 25 provinces, serving over 280 projects with more than 600 units delivered and applied to over 5.5 million square meters of construction area.
China is a major construction market, with the construction industry accounting for roughly 26% of GDP in 2020. The sector faces structural labor challenges: the migrant construction workforce is aging, and younger workers are less willing to enter the field. National Bureau of Statistics data show the total number of migrant workers in 2020 was 285.6 million, a 1.8% decline year on year. Labor shortages, rising costs, and safety concerns are expected to intensify.
Against this backdrop, automated construction solutions and robot-assisted building processes could see broad adoption in the Chinese real estate sector, potentially making construction one of the significant beneficiaries of robotics adoption after automotive and consumer electronics.
Carbon goals: robotics opportunities under carbon peak and neutrality targets
Following China’s announcement of targets to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, carbon reduction policies are expected to stimulate downstream demand for robotics and intelligent manufacturing technologies.
Analysis shows consumer industries account for the largest share of direct emissions, while real estate contributes significantly to indirect emissions. Construction is a major emitter: statistics indicate the building sector contributes around 20% of national carbon emissions. The sector also faces issues of low process technology adoption, resource waste, safety risks, and environmental pollution. In 2018, total carbon emissions from the full construction process were reported as 4.93 billion tons of standard coal, accounting for 51.3% of national carbon emissions for that measure.
Construction waste is also substantial: in 2020 China generated about 2.385 billion tons of construction waste, roughly 30%–40% of total waste, and this amount has been increasing with urbanization and market expansion. Construction waste generation has been growing at an estimated 8%–10% annually.
In response, Bozhilin developed a mobile brickmaking vehicle for on-site reuse of construction waste. The vehicle integrates crushing and screening, measurement and mixing, pressing and forming, and finished-product stacking functions. It is compact, highly automated, and designed for rapid relocation and on-site conversion of construction waste into recycled concrete products used directly on project sites. As of September 15, 2021, the system had processed 450 tons of construction waste and produced more than 200,000 paving bricks (230×115×60 mm), with 11 domestic invention patent filings and 3 overseas filings.
Recent policies promoting green construction and construction waste management demonstrate increased attention to sustainable development in the construction sector. Under combined policy and market pressures, robotics solutions for recycling and green construction are expected to see wider deployment in China’s construction industry.
Policy and market outlook
Guided by Industry 4.0 and related policies, China’s robotics industry has grown rapidly. During the COVID-19 pandemic, robots were deployed for disinfection, delivery, temperature screening, and inspection tasks, demonstrating their value in service and safety scenarios. Sustained market demand has driven technological innovation, product development, systems integration, talent cultivation, and public service infrastructure for robotics.
To support healthy industry development, central ministries and local governments have issued policies and industry plans targeting robotics. Multiple provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Shanghai, and Zhejiang, have released robotics-related industrial plans. These policies, together with market demand, are contributing to continued expansion of the robotics sector.
