China's robotics sector has recorded substantial achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with a complete industrial chain established, according to the China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF).
At the 2025 China Robot Industry Development Conference, held in east China's Shanghai from Monday to Wednesday, major industry players shared their substantial progress over the past five years.
One of the core components of modern robots is the harmonic drive, a lightweight gear system capable of high-precision and high-torque power transmission.
Leaderdrive, a company producing these drives in Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province, has seen its output double this year to reach 500,000 units, driven by continuous breakthroughs in core technologies.
"In the early phase of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), we addressed the issue of building the [robotic] industrial chain from the ground up. The harmonic drive was previously monopolized by overseas companies. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we have largely solved the security challenge of the supply chain," said Zhang Yu, general manager of Leaderdrive.
An industrial robot manufacturer in Wuhu City of east China's Anhui Province has also experienced stable growth in traditional robot product output while rapidly increasing the production of high-end robots this year.
"In the early stage of of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, our domestic robots were primarily used in traditional manufacturing sectors and in mid-to-low-end applications for small and medium-sized enterprises. Through the development during this period, our robots are gradually entering the advanced manufacturing sectors of top clients," said You Wei, chairman of industrial robot maker EFORT.
The advancements are not limited to core components, as the robotics industry in China is now making strides at all levels of the industrial chain.
A representative from a research institute in Beijing, which serves as the secretariat for the National Robot Standardization Technical Committee, said that since its establishment in early 2021, it has published 131 national standards and is currently working on over 40 additional standards.
"Looking forward, we will enhance the standard system while accelerating the release and development of various standards [of the industrial chain]. Previously, our [robot] standards aligned with international norms. In the future, we aim to take a leading role," said Wang Zhenlin, chairman of Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machinery Industry Co., Ltd.
According to CMIF, China's robot exports surged from 390 million USD in 2020 to 1.15 billion USD in 2024, representing a cumulative increase of 1.9 times with an annual growth rate of 31 percent. In the first three quarters of this year alone, total export value reached 1.24 billion USD, a 56 percent increase year on year.
China shapes full-fledged industrial chain in robotics sector over past 5 years
