China's first industrial robot production line is expected to start operation in the northeastern city of Shenyang this month.

SIASUN Robot and Automation Co. Ltd. will be the first to jump start China's industrial robot production with an annual capacity of 5,000. Their facilities will produce robots applied in welding, hauling, assembling, stacking, grinding and polishing, according to Qu Daokui, the company's CEO.

He said the production line is undergoing tests and the exact date of operation is yet to be announced.8 The application of robots has expanded from the high-end industries such as automobile and electronics manufacturing to traditional industries, including metal processing, bathroom hardware, food and drinks, said Qu, who is also director general of China Robot Industry Alliance.

China became the world's largest industrial robot market in 2013 with 37,000 industrial robots sold in the country, accounting for 20 percent of the global market.

Rising labor costs and aging population have prompted the application of industrial robots in China, which at the same time boosts the intelligent transition of the manufacturing industry, said Ding Han, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2014)