Haimen of Nantong, East China’s Jiangsu province, is to develop a robot-themed town, aiming at boosting its robotic industry, according to local media reporting an April 10 press conference.

The robot-themed town will be located in Zhengyu town. It will boast three leading producers of industrial robots, construction equipment and high-end auto parts.

Officials said industrial robot core components produced by Nantong Zhenkang Welding Electromachinery Co, a company based in Zhengyu town, has a commanding domestic market share of over 70 percent. Its core R&D capability and production technology are world-leading, and it has gained recognition from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The company has realized its ambition to transform itself from being a producer of core components to the development of industrial robots, the development of construction robots and the popularization of robots. It has successfully created an entire industrial chain integrating robot development, production, testing and applications.

The robot-themed town -- with robotic R&D and manufacturing as its core industry, additionally supported by robot sales and services and robot applications -- will strive to achieve lofty goals.

It wants to host a national robot testing center, a national scientific and technological innovation achievements industrialization center, a national artificial intelligence and a permanent meeting site for robot integration development forums, as well as being home to a national robot training center.

According to Guo Xiaomin, mayor of Haimen, the city has already established a robotic industry ecosystem with relatively complete functions and a basic system.

It is at the forefront in China in terms of the construction of industrial robotic sector chains, market demand, and innovative resource allocation. Its robot production capacity accounts for more than 50 percent of the national market share.

In addition, Haimen is partnering with Tsinghua University Intelligent Welding Robot R&D Center and Shanghai Jiaotong University to establish a cooperation platform for government, industry, and research in the near future.

A press conference held on April 10 promotes the robotics industry in Haimen, Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province. [Photo/people.com.cn]