Robotics industry strides hailed

China's robotics industry has moved into the global front rank in reliability, intelligence and real-world applications, while the country's vast market is opening fresh opportunities for technology providers, said a senior executive at a global technology distributor.

Arthur Chung, vice-president of sales and supplier management for Asia at global technology distributor and solutions provider Avnet, said the just-concluded World Robot Conference in Beijing showed how quickly Chinese companies are turning laboratory concepts into machines that can work in factories, warehouses and public-service settings.

"After seeing so many Chinese robots and their application scenarios in Beijing, I genuinely believe China is at the forefront of the robotics industry," Chung said, adding that domestic robot products are leading in stability, reliability and functionality.

The wide range of robots presented at this year's WRC — from coffee-serving robotic arms and boxing robots to production-line systems capable of handling objects of different shapes — reflected both growing technological maturity and an expanding range of applications, Chung said.

"In China, we continue to see strong interest and growing engagement from robotics companies as the industry moves from experimentation to real-world deployment," he said.

"Chinese customers often ask for faster responses and more advanced technical support because their application requirements are moving quickly," he noted, adding that the company expects demand for processors, cameras, connectivity, memory, power management and sensing technologies to grow alongside the industry.

China is one of Avnet's most important markets and among Asia's largest markets for AI and robotics, Chung said. Avnet posted record sales of $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, with Asia accounting for 47.5 percent of the total. Key technology markets such as China played an important role in the region's performance, he added.

Official data underline that momentum. In the first half, enterprises above the designated size in China's robotics industry generated 165.5 billion yuan ($24.6 billion) in operating revenue, up 24.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

According to the technology distributor, the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure and data centers was a major growth driver in the past year.

"AI's first wave was data centers, GPUs, large models and training," Chung said. "We believe the second wave will include agentic AI and physical AI, bringing AI into real-life settings and enabling it to take action."

He also highlighted the role of edge computing, which allows robots to make time-sensitive decisions locally, while cloud systems handle model training, fleet coordination and large-scale data processing.

Against that backdrop, Chung said the industry's biggest bottleneck was not any single component, but the challenge of integrating motion control, embedded computing, AI, communications, sensors and mechanical design at a competitive cost.

To help address that challenge, Avnet plans to deepen its work with technology partners, helping customers select components, integrate systems, conduct small-batch testing and scale up production, Chung said. Its global network can also help Chinese companies meet overseas requirements for standards, compliance, performance, component supply and logistics.

lijiaying@chinadaily.com.cn