China’s robotics industry is weathering the challenges posed by Covid-19, with a number of robotic segments actually been given a leg up by the crisis.
On the whole, China’s $8 billion robotics sector is a global bright spot. The country’s installations of industrial robotics – which automate factory work – account for 36% of global installations. Service robotics – which automates services in the hospitality, healthcare, and financial sectors, for instance – amount to a market of more than $2 billion in China, with the growth of more than 30% in the year up to 2019.
No doubt, the Covid-19 crisis has slowed down this momentum to some extent. According to YCP Solidiance, an Asian-origin strategy consulting firm, the biggest blow to robotics growth in China has been the broad squeeze in funding on offer, driven by evaporating cash flows and widespread economic uncertainty.