China becomes world’s largest buyer of industrial robots

China, once the manual labour “workshop of the world”, has become the largest buyer of industrial robots, as rising wage costs and growing competition from emerging economies have forced manufacturers to turn to technology.        

一度被称为人工劳动“世界工厂”的中国，如今已成为世界上购买工业机器人最多的国家，这是因为工资成本上涨以及来自新兴经济体的竞争加剧，迫使中国制造企业更多地求助于技术。
     
The country bought one in five robots sold globally in 2013, overtaking tech-savvy Japan for the first time, in its attempt to drive productivity gains.    

2013年，工业机器人全球销量的五分之一由中国购买，其购买量首次超过了精通技术的日本。中国大举购买机器人是为了提高生产效率。
     
China bought 36,560 industrial robots last year, a rise of almost 60 per cent against 2012, according to new figures from the International Federation of Robotics, an industry group based in Germany. Japan bought 26,015 robots in 2013, with the US in third place with 23,679.    

根据设在德国的行业组织——国际机器人联合会（International Federation of Robotics，简称IFR）的数据，2013年中国购买了36560台工业机器人，较2012年增加了近60%。2013年，日本购买工业机器人26015台，排在第三位的美国的购买量为23679台。
     
“China has the fastest-growing robot market. In a few years time China will be significantly larger than the second and third largest robot market,” said Per Vegard Nerseth, head of robotics for ABB.    

“中国已成为增长最快的机器人市场。几年之后，中国机器人市场的规模将远远大于全球第二大、第三大市场，”ABB机器人部主管倪思德(Per Vegard Nerseth)表示。     

Robot sales to China have increased 36 per cent, on average, every year from 2008 to 2013, according to IFR data. The further growth potential is huge: in 2012, China had just 23 robots for every 10,000 people employed in the manufacturing industry, compared with 396 in South Korea.    

国际机器人联合会数据显示，2008年至2013年，中国每年机器人进口量平均增幅达36%。未来的增长潜力十分巨大：2012年，中国制造业的机器人密度仅为23台/万人，韩国则为396台/万人。    

The increased demand for robots in China is being driven primarily by large multinational manufacturers, especially in the automotive sector. China’s car industry, the world’s largest, accounts for about 60 per cent of robot demand in the country, according to research by management consultancy Solidiance.    

中国当前对机器人的需求增加，主要是大型跨国制造企业、尤其是大型跨国车企推动的结果。管理咨询公司Solidiance的研究显示，规模为全球第一的中国汽车行业，约占到全国机器人总需求量的60%。