Which of the top 10 cities with the most potential for the development of China's robotics industry do you pick?

Since 2013, local governments have introduced a number of policies to encourage the development of the robotics industry based on their own advantages, including relevant support policies for the entire chain from R&D, production to application. During this period, cities with resource advantages and industrial first-mover advantages have successively taken the lead in regional competition. In addition, with the continuous deepening of robotics technology and product innovation, more and more new products, new tracks and new applications continue to emerge. In addition to the traditional hard power, the competition between cities in the industry is increasingly highlighted in terms of soft power.

At present, the regional distribution of China's robot industry has gradually formed a distinct regional pattern. According to China's administrative and geographical divisions, combined with the development foundation and characteristics of the robot industry, the country can be divided into six major regions: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Northeast China, Central China and West China.

So, as the industrial regional structure becomes clearer, who will be able to take the lead and win the top spot?

Guangdong Province ranks first in the number of robot companies, and Suzhou has great potential

Recently, Gaogong Robot Industry Research Institute (GGII) released the "TOP 10 Cities with Regional Development Potential for China's Robot Industry in 2023" (click the title link to view) .

According to the list, the top ten provinces in terms of the number of robot companies in 2023 are: Guangdong Province, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Shanghai, Shandong Province, Beijing, Fujian Province, Anhui Province, Hubei Province, Sichuan Province, Liaoning Province, Shaanxi Province, Tianjin City, Hunan Province, and Chongqing City. Among them, Guangdong Province ranks first in the number of robot companies, and is far ahead of Jiangsu Province, which ranks second.

Distribution of robot companies in major provinces in China in 2023

Data source: Qichacha, GGII data compilation

In addition, through questionnaire surveys and field research, GGII not only refers to the number of robot companies, but also adds a comprehensive evaluation of factors such as the scale of the robot industry in each region, industrial supporting facilities, the perfection of the industrial chain ecology, talent training and attraction, industrial innovation capabilities, industrial carriers and policies, and forms the TOP10 list of cities with regional development potential for China's robot industry.

According to the "Top 10 Cities with Potential for Regional Development of China's Robot Industry in 2023", Suzhou, Changzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Nanjing, Wuhu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing and other cities have made the list. Among them, Suzhou ranks first with a total score of 93.3, surpassing Changzhou and Dongguan.

Top 10 cities with the most potential for regional development of China's robotics industry in 2023

Note: Because the four super first-tier cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing and Guangzhou have outstanding inherent resource endowments, this ranking does not include the above four cities in the ranking range based on the consideration of tapping potential cities.

So what are the specific situations of major cities in terms of "potential"? Below, Gaogong Robot has sorted out and reviewed the information that has been publicly disclosed.

The top 10 players arm wrestle

• Jiangsu-Suzhou

In 2022, Suzhou's total industrial output value above designated size reached 4,364.27 billion yuan, up 4.1% year-on-year. The two trillion-level industries of electronic information industry and equipment manufacturing industry achieved an output value of 2,659.72 billion yuan, up 7.1%, becoming an important support for the stable operation of the industrial economy.

Suzhou has outstanding location advantages and has formed an industrial agglomeration effect with cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. It has a good environment for the development of the robotics industry, and the government plays a more guiding role in it.

At present, Suzhou's robot industry chain is basically complete, with a number of well-known companies in the industry, including Huichuan Technology, Green Harmonic, Ecovacs, Elite, Bozhong Precision, Saiteng Co., Ltd., Kangduo Robot, Jiangsu Beiren, Hanchuan Intelligence, Junduo Robot, Muxing Intelligence, CSG Huaxiao, Mu Niu Liu Ma, and Ajiwei . Its rich resource endowment advantages, location and transportation advantages, and industrial supporting synergy advantages have provided superior conditions for the development of Suzhou's robot industry.

• Jiangsu-Changzhou

In 2022, Changzhou's GDP reached 955.01 billion yuan, and it is basically certain to enter the "trillion club" in 2023. In 2022, Changzhou's total industrial output exceeded 2 trillion yuan for the first time, ranking third among the manufacturing provinces of Jiangsu.

In recent years, Changzhou has accelerated the creation of a robot industry with a strong industrial chain, strong innovation, and strong application. The industry scale ranks among the top in the province and has become one of the most influential robot industry bases in the country. From January to October 2022, the output value of key robot industry enterprises in Wujin District, Changzhou City increased by more than 30% year-on-year.

At present, Changzhou has brought together well-known domestic and foreign companies such as Yaskawa, Jieka, Mingsai, Jinshi, Qianjing , Nabtesco, Quick , Aobo , Kunwei Technology, and Ruier Technology , building a complete robot industry chain from "key components" to "complete machine production" and then to "system integration".

• Guangdong-Dongguan

Dongguan's GDP in 2021 was 1,085.535 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.2% and an average growth of 4.6% over two years.

Since 2014, Dongguan has begun to vigorously develop the robotics industry and established the Songshan Lake International Robotics Industry Base in the same year. As of the end of August 2021, the Songshan Lake International Robotics Industry Base has incubated 80 entrepreneurial entities with a total output value of more than 3.5 billion yuan. As far as Dongguan is concerned, there are about 163 robotics companies above scale in Dongguan, and industrial robot R&D and production companies account for about 10% of the total number in the country.

From 2016 to 2021, the added value of Dongguan's advanced equipment manufacturing industry fluctuated, and the growth rate continued to decline after 2017, and began to bottom out in 2019. In 2021, the added value of Dongguan's advanced equipment manufacturing industry increased by 9.10% year-on-year, which is a relatively fast growth rate among Dongguan's advanced manufacturing industries.

Among them, Dongguan also brings together companies such as Topstar, Liqun Automation, Googol Technology , Tianji Robotics, Songling Robotics, Benmo Technology, Edo Technology, Yunjing Intelligent, Bronte, and Erbiti .

• Guangdong-Foshan

In 2022, the city's industrial added value above designated size reached 576.184 billion yuan, an increase of 1.6%. The manufacturing industry played an important supporting role, with the city's industrial added value above designated size reaching 552.413 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.3%, driving the city's industrial growth by 1.3 percentage points. The output of representative products of intelligent manufacturing, such as lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots, grew rapidly, up 53.2% and 40.2% respectively.

In recent years, Foshan's robotics industry has shown a leapfrog development trend, with the industry scale continuing to grow and ranking among the second echelon in the country.

In the field of industrial robots , Foshan has companies such as Kuka (Guangdong) Robotics, Zhongda Lide, Estun, Huasu Robotics, Augmented Intelligence, Blue Fat Robotics, Longshen Robotics, Longqi Robotics, Feixi Technology, Jiateng Robotics, and Aihualu ; in the field of service robots , it has typical companies such as Midea, Yunmi, Qianxi, and Yinxing; in the field of special robots , it has typical companies such as Bozhilin and Kekeda. The industrial chain has gradually improved, forming a full chain of the robot industry of "core components-robot body-system integration".

• Jiangsu-Nanjing

In 2022, the total industrial output value of Nanjing above designated size was 1,532.088 billion yuan, an increase of 5.9%.

There are nearly 100 companies involved in the research and development and production of robots in Nanjing, mainly concentrated in Nanjing Jiangning Development Zone, Nanjing Development Zone, Nanjing Qilin High-tech Zone, Nanjing Jiangbei New District Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park and other areas and sectors. Industrial robots are the main force of Nanjing's robot industry. Nanjing companies are involved in the manufacturing of key components such as servo motors and controllers, robot body manufacturing, system integration and cutting-edge robot technologies.

Nanjing has body manufacturers such as Estun in industrial robots ; key component manufacturers include Sciyon, Bonat , control systems and Estun's servo drive control systems; in the field of system integration, there are mainly CSIC Pengli and Nanjing Hexin ; Jingyao Technology focuses on robot visual inspection systems and has certain advantages in the application of special scenes. In addition, there are also companies such as Huichuan Technology and Geek+ .