China's Ministry of Science and Technology has set aside RMB 600 million (£68 million) for 42 research projects into intelligent robotics. The projects, which are aimed to "promote the country's robotics and artificial intelligence technology industry and make its next generation robots more competitive", will start this year and the funding will cover a 5-year period. Although the lead partner must be a Chinese university, research institute or company, institutions are permitted to involve overseas researchers.

The project guidelines are aligned with the "Made in China 2025" strategy, which aims to upgrade China's manufacturing sector and expand into high-end manufacturing fields such as aerospace equipment, new energy vehicles and robotics. Specific project fields include foundational technology, next-generation robotics, industrial robotics, service robotics and robotics for specialised purposes.

Analysis by Kevin Prest and Cathy He:

The importance placed on these projects illustrates the increasing importance of smart manufacturing technology in China. According to the National Manufacturing Strategy Advisory Committee, more than 150,000 industrial robots will be sold in China in 2020, with more than 800,000 in service. The Advisory Committee also expects that the industry will be worth tens of billions of RMB (billions of pounds) and be globally competitive by that point.

Aside from research, strengthening talent development for this industry is also a key priority. There is strong support for the expansion and strengthening of subjects related to advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence at higher education institutions. The fast development of the industry has made these subjects popular among local students, while Chinese universities also want to develop the subjects by working closely with industry and with overseas institutions with strengths in this field.

There are therefore opportunities for UK institutions to develop both academic and research links and joint programmes with Chinese counterparts in the field of robotics, advanced manufacturing and AI, as encouraged by the national strategy.

Sources:

http://www.ecns.cn/2017/08-03/267835.shtml (English article)

http://www.most.gov.cn/kjbgz/201708/t20170801_134327.htm (Official announcement and guidelines, in Chinese)

http://www.robot-china.com/news/201506/21/21737.html (Data on China’s robotics industry, in Chinese)