Chinese companies gain edge on foreign peers

Chinese robot makers posted faster growth in the output of industrial robots than did foreign brands last year, as the country looks to raise its robot-to-worker ratio to cope with labor shortages and rising salaries.

"In 2015, Chinese robot makers manufactured 22,000 units of industrial robots, up 31.3 percent year-on-year, a faster rate of increase than that of foreign brands' 12.5 percent rise during the same period," said Song Xiaogang, executive president and secretary-general of the China Robot Industry Alliance, and also vice-president of the China Machinery Industry Federation.

In 2015, sales of robots in the Chinese market reached 68,459 units, up 18 percent year-on-year. The number of more sophisticated multi-joint robots made in China grew 71.7 percent year-on-year, compared with the 12.5 percent growth of multi-joint robot sales in China, said Song.