Shanghai will build a robot industry worth 100 billion yuan (US$14.52 billion) by 2025, a high-profile official notice revealed.
Shanghai’s Economic and Information Technology Commission announced the goal in a notice it issued on March 13.
The notice also came with a list of Shanghai-based robotic companies that meet a set of criteria on industry position and application scenario.
The list, which comprises 44 companies ranging from giants like Midea to early-stage startups, covers seven applications.
They span industry and automation, healthcare, construction, agriculture and public service, home service and specialized emergency use.
The listmakers were announced after the commission, in charge of drafting and enforcing policies on industry and information technology, sought public input, collected recommendations, held review sessions and showcased the candidates online for about two months.
The full list (in Chinese only) can be accessed here.
The original list, which was released on January 17 at a municipal government press briefing, included the same number of candidate firms.
According to the notice from the commission, it expects the listmakers to double down new production innovation and increase the supply of high-tech equipment.
It also urged the private and public sectors to actively adopt robotics in the listed application scenarios to help promote the city’s digital transition.
In addition, efforts are needed to build a “first-rate” business-friendly environment to advance the development of smart terminals, represented by robotics.
Shanghai, which already leads the nation in penetration of robots, is to build 10 industry-leading robotic brands and 100 trademark robot application scenarios by 2025, with a market size to the tune of 100 billion yuan, according to an official plan.
Earlier this year, the city’s authorities pledged to turbocharge its robot industry in a three-pronged strategy.
Specifically, in the next three years, Shanghai looks to build 20 city-level trademark smart factories, 200 city-level smart factories and add 20,000 industrial robot installations, lifting the industrial robot density to 100 units per 10,000 individuals.
