The machines which are capable of making, assembling and inspecting goods on production lines have already been rolled out, with one factory laying off 30 workers to make way for the robots. The robots were displayed at China’s Hi-Tech fair in Shenzhen earlier this month, an annual event which showcases new development ideas with the aim of driving growth in a number industries. But the news has annoyed Washington as it is expected to put international competitors at a disadvantage, as the two countries’s bitter trade war continues to escalate.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Sabrina Li, a senior manager at IngDan, said: “We incubated this platform so we can meet the (Made in China 2025) policy.
“One noodle factory was able to dismiss 30 people, making it more productive and efficient.”
Giving the suffering manufacturing industry a leg up is a key part of the Chinese government’s Made in China 2025 policy.
Zhangli Xing, deputy manager of Suzhou Govian Technology which sells the quality control robots, said they are more reliable than human labour.
Mr Xing said : “A person looking by eye would take 5-6 seconds for each object, versus 2-3 seconds by machine. And humans will get tired and make more errors.”
This year the US announced three rounds of tariffs on $250bn worth of Chinese products while China retaliated with levies on $50bn of US products.
President Trump is set to meet with President Xi Jinping at the G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires next week and investors expect their relationship to remain frosty behind closed doors, regardless of cordial handshakes and smiles for the cameras.
Mr Trump is planning on increasing the 10 per cent tariff on $200bn of Chinese products to 25 per cent in 2019 unless a deal is struck between the two nations.
It comes after the US government accused technology company Huawei of being controlled by the Chinese government.
Intelligence agency leaders said Chinese-made equipment may be used by Beijing to spy on people including those at US military bases in Japan, Italy and Germany.
A spokesman for the US Government of Commerce said they would remain vigilant against any threat to US security.