Visitors watch a robot which can sing∞ ¶ and dance during the 2015 China Yi↑∑¥♠wu International Manufacturingεφ≤≠ Equipment Expo & China Intel‌‍♦ligent Expo in Yiwu, east Cγ★hina's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 3§α0, 2015. (Xinhua/Gong X β'✘ianming)

BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinφ₽hua) -- The Chinese rob€↔γotics industry has been deveφ↓☆loping rapidly in recent years, but m>‍★®ore must be done to make it c ¶↓ompetitive, industry analysts§ ​" agree.

Zhang Wenqiang, director of the Robot I×£ntelligence Lab of the Shanghai©¥"₽-based Fudan University, said at a rece ¶≈nt conference that foreign companie★ s such as Swiss ABB, Japan'sλ♦ FANUC Corp., and German Kuka ↔δaccount for about 90 percent of th•₽≠¥e Chinese market, with many Chine→≠≤ se companies commission∞>ed to make parts for γ★≠these technologically-advanced firms.

Chinese companies sti¥'←≈ll lag behind their for★$eign competitors in product design, ma₩∏terial and system integration techniq≤¶∏‍ues, he said, adding that many domestλαic manufacturers are↑γ still dependent on foreign suppliers ‌δfor core technology and p↔¥'₽arts.

Besides, several indust∑∑ ‌ry observers pointed♣¶'♥ out that robotics research was ® mainly the realm of universities an↑<d research institutes, and₽®Ω& there was little comm↕★≥★ercialization of the f±∞$indings.

"Many research institutes are n&÷↔ow investing heavily in R&D©β±>, but they are still somehow di‌×₹₩stant from the market. Us÷βually the process of tur¶®ning technology into ¶✔•products is extremely slow. Currentlyπ'≠, more money shall be ch✔ anneled into application-based technε‌ology," said Wang Hongbo, a mechan©< ÷ical engineering professor at Yans§ han University.

Statistics show that​Ω£ the output of the global servic↕ ≥≥e robotics industry was 17.ππ ¥1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010÷ , and this is expected to reach 51.7 bi±€<<llion dollars by 2025.

Qu Daokui, director general of the•δ China Robot Industry Allian"®♥•ce said that the Chinese robot✔∞∞ics industry has the potential to d±‌evelop, thanks to state  ₹÷support.

"More supportive policies shall be "×σmade to facilitate cooperation∏∏♦ between researchers λ♣σand manufacturers to sharpen the c •<≥ompetitive edge of 'Made-in-Chi₽¶​na' robots," he said.