China's Industrial Robot Development: Policy Initiatives and Strategic Plans

In December of 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the 'Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of Industrial Robot Industry'. The objective of this policy was to facilitate the widespread demonstration and application of industrial robots in critical industrial manufacturing sectors, thereby establishing a highly competitive industrial robot industrial cluster. In May of 2015, the Chinese Municipal Government implemented measures to expedite the execution of the 'Made in China 2025' plan and stimulate the intelligent transformation of production equipment.