Shanghai to see breakthroughs in robotics by 2025

SHANGHAI -- Shanghai will see its robot density -- measured by the number of robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers -- in manufacturing increase by 100 in the next three years, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Robot density is a key indicator to measure the level of intelligent manufacturing. The metropolis will build a total of 20 city-level leading smart factories and 200 city-level smart factories by 2025, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization.

Shanghai is promoting the digital transformation of its manufacturing industry. In 2022, the annual output of industrial robots in Shanghai is expected to top 75,000 units, up 6 percent year-on-year, ranking first among Chinese cities, according to the commission's deputy director Tang Wenkan.

By 2025, Shanghai will strive to build 10 industry-leading robot brands and 100 demonstration application scenarios, with the scale of the robot-related industry reaching 100 billion yuan ($14.88 billion), Tang added.

According to Wu Chunping, an official with the commission, Shanghai is the first city in China to include robot density statistics. The robot density in Shanghai's key industries currently stands at 383, while the number in its major enterprises has reached 260, which is more than twice the global average.