Xinhua News Agency, Berlin, September 24 (Reporter Li Hanlin) "China is not only the world's largest industrial robot market, but also becoming an important force in robot technology innovation and industrial development.Susan Beeler, secretary-general of the International Federation of Robotics, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency recently that China's robot industry has developed rapidly in recent years. Behind it are not only a huge manufacturing base and expanding application needs, but also the continued enhancement of independent innovation capabilities and the rapid application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

On September 20, 2026, at the Zeroth Power booth in the Robot and Embodied Intelligence Exhibition Area of the 2026 World Manufacturing Conference, a robot delivered drinks to the audience.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chang Nengjia

Biller, who has visited China many times, noticed that China's robot industry is transforming from market scale expansion to technological innovation, application expansion and industrial upgrading, and robots are accelerating to enter more industries and application scenarios.“During my recent visits to China, I have been very impressed by the speed of robot application promotion and the growing interest in robotics technology in different industries.”

The International Federation of Robotics in Frankfurt, Germany, released the "2026 World Robot Report" on the 24th.The report shows that China will maintain its position as the world's largest industrial robot market in 2025, with an installed base of 354,000 industrial robots, accounting for approximately 59% of the world's total installations, a record high.

Biller believes that Chinese companies continue to deepen their understanding of different industrial needs and application scenarios, quickly transform technological innovation into products and solutions that adapt to specific production needs, and promote the robot industry to continuously improve its technical capabilities and industrial competitiveness.

“We are seeing more and more new applications and new industries emerging.Biller said that with the advancement of robot technology, the reduction of application costs and the expanding demand for automation by enterprises, some industries with relatively limited automation are gradually becoming new spaces for the expansion of robot applications.

On September 23, 2026, at the 2026 China International Digital Economy Expo, staff operated universal robots to carry goods.Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Liang Zidong)

Biller is particularly concerned about the further integration of artificial intelligence and physical industries.In her view, robots are becoming an important carrier for artificial intelligence technology to enter real production environments, and physical artificial intelligence is expected to become an important direction in promoting the further development of the robot industry.

In April this year, Biller visited a factory of a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer in Shenzhen.She noticed that while companies are widely using industrial robots in production, they are also developing humanoid robots.

“As robots accelerate their entry into more industries and complex scenarios, and artificial intelligence further integrates with physical industries, China's robot industry will further shift from scale expansion to technological innovation, scenario expansion and solution improvement.Biller said that the continued development of China's robot industry will not only promote the acceleration of intelligence in more manufacturing and production links, but also provide more new practices for global robot technology innovation and application expansion.