(Yicai) Aug. 11 -- The number of newly installed industrial robots in China jumped 5 percent in 2024 from the previous year, while the figure fell 3 percent worldwide due to a drop in demand in the auto industry.

Some 290,000 industrial robots were deployed in China in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, Takayuki Ito, chairman of the International Federation of Robotics, said at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Aug. 9. The country accounted for 54 percent of the global market, up from 51 percent in 2023, he added.

Other major industrial robot markets saw a decline in new installations, with that in the United States falling by 9 percent, in Japan by 7 percent, and in Europe by 6 percent, Ito pointed out.

In addition, China surpassed Japan and Germany by robot density, a measurement of automation in the manufacturing industry based on the number of industrial robots per 10,000 workers, with 470 units, ranking only behind South Korea with 1,012 units and Singapore with 770 units, according to data from the IFR.

Despite geopolitical conflicts and tariff frictions, industrial robot orders in Asia still rose by a single digit in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, mainly thanks to the moderate recovery in the electronics industry, Ito said, adding that China will continue to lead global robot demand.

China's industrial robot sales topped 302,000 units last year, ranking as the world's largest market for the 12th straight year, according to data previously disclosed by the Chinese Institute of Electronics. The country is also the largest producer of industrial robots worldwide, with its output reaching 556,000 units in 2024.

China has hosted the annual World Robotics Conference to promote the development and technological progress of the robot industry since 2015. This year's five-day event, which ends tomorrow, attracted more than 200 well-known Chinese and foreign robotics firms, including Unitree Robotics, ABB Group, and KUKA, exhibiting over 1,500 products.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev