China's smaller manufacturers look to catch the automation wave

Employees checking a newly manufactured Neolix X3 vehicle at a factory of Chinese autonomous delivery vehicle maker Neolix in Yancheng, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers calibrated its cameras, typical of the incremental automation being adopted even across smaller factories in the world's manufacturing powerhouse. — AFP

YANCHENG, China: In a light-filled workshop in eastern China, a robotic arm moved a partially assembled autonomous vehicle as workers calibrated its cameras, typical of the incremental automation being adopted even across smaller factories in the world's manufacturing powerhouse.

China is already the world's largest market for industrial robots, and the government is pouring billions of dollars into robotics and artificial intelligence to boost its presence in the sector.