In a recent interview with China Economic Weekly, President Qu Daokui of Siasun Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. stated that the global robotics industry is currently at a turning point, undergoing a reshuffle, and that Chinese robotics companies have the opportunity to surpass their foreign counterparts. He noted that "all technologies go through stages of infancy, growth, maturity, and decline, but the end of the robotics cycle is unknown. At this juncture, proactively embracing overseas markets is essential for achieving shared success."

　　Regarding the disorderly competition in China's robotics market, Qu Daokui believes that market forces can regulate corporate competition. The greater concern is excessive enthusiasm from local governments. Because robotics is a future industry, there's a tendency for a rush into the field, leading to duplicated construction and vicious competition, hindering the ability to compete in international markets. Therefore, China needs to cultivate internationally leading companies. For the development of China Manufacturing 2025 and the Chinese robotics industry, quantity is one aspect, but more crucial is the lack of internationally influential or flagship companies in China. This is the core strength of robotics, artificial intelligence, and intelligent manufacturing. In Qu Daokui's view, among China's 3,000-plus robotics companies, only 10% are competitive; the remaining 90% are merely conceptual.

　　Qu Daokui believes that developing China's robotics industry requires not only core technologies but also talent and financial capital. Utilizing financial capital for overseas mergers and acquisitions is one way to expand businesses, but post-merger management is crucial. Due to shortcomings in internationalization during the development of Chinese companies, conflicts in management philosophy and culture after mergers and acquisitions become significant obstacles. Gaining international acceptance requires a period of adjustment. The key is to shorten this process, making the cultivation of multinational talent extremely urgent. Qu Daokui points out that the government has made significant strategic adjustments in the robotics industry, and Siasun will promote the development of China's robotics industry through a systematic and platform-based approach.

　　China's robotics development history is much shorter than that of developed countries. Previously, the focus was on R&D in high-end fields, with relatively less market promotion and application. Globally, industrial robots have been developed for over half a century, but only seven or eight years in China, resulting in low market share. Qu Daokui believes that in the consumer and service sectors, robotics products are still in their infancy globally, with even greater potential than the industrial sector. Under China's future robotics industry development plan, China will promote the development of service robots into broader areas. This is a rapidly developing field, and China's development timeline is almost synchronized with the world. In areas such as firefighting, rescue, security, medical care, public services, and nursing, China is on the same starting line as the rest of the world. Therefore, public service robots are easier to break through and promote.

　　To address international competition and cooperation, Qu Daokui suggests accelerating the development of robotics standards. The national robotics standardization system currently under development could become a key support for the leapfrog development of China's robotics industry.

　　Qu Daokui believes that in the past, China was at a disadvantage in the standardization system, subject to foreign influence. Currently, traditional systems are almost obsolete, at a point of transition. This puts China on the same starting line as the world, with both foreign advantages and Chinese disadvantages being reset to zero. A major turning point has arrived. China already possesses the market and technology; future competition will largely depend on the construction of the standardization system.

　　What will future enterprises look like under Industry 4.0?

　　Scientists' thinking is different, stemming from more systematic and in-depth thinking. Qu Daokui believes that the internet and intelligent manufacturing will further promote the breadth and depth of factor integration, leading to a higher level of social development. Previous market opportunities due to factor deficiencies no longer exist because of the development of the internet and the internet of things. The global market is readily accessible. Traditional industrial thinking is outdated. In a market with abundant goods, companies can hardly survive with a consistent model for a long time, and companies with traditional business thinking are even more doomed. Microsoft once set its lifespan at 18 months. Most companies that fail have problems with their development direction. During times of great social change, companies will have opportunities under Industry 4.0 thinking.

　　In Qu Daokui's view, Industry 4.0 is a systematic way of thinking. It is not merely a transformation of traditional industries but a social revolution. This transformation places particularly stringent demands on enterprises. Qu Daokui believes that enterprises in the Industry 1.0 and 2.0 eras could at best be called factories (factory), while after Industry 3.0 they are called companies (company). Now, enterprises are called enterprises (enterprise). In the future, the structure of enterprises will undergo fundamental changes. They cannot simply be about production and sales. After the great enrichment of social goods, information systems and physical equipment must form a perfect combination, giving rise to the combination of intelligent manufacturing and the Internet of Things. Under the promotion of Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing, human production and life will undergo brand-new changes. Enterprises will no longer be simply production-oriented enterprises but aggregators of resources and factors. Only in this way can they adapt to new requirements.

　　Qu Daokui aims to organize Siasun into a systematic platform combining production, academia, research, and application, making it a tool for achieving Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing, thereby transforming and upgrading traditional industries. According to Qu Daokui, Siasun Robotics has formed four major industrial sectors and two platforms, aiming to achieve the integration of production, research, finance, and education, forming a resource-sharing platform.

　　To establish this platform, in March 2016, Siasun Robot & Automation's subsidiary, Beijing Huize Boyuan Robot Investment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huize Boyuan"), successfully acquired the 110-year-old German educational institution, Tautlov. As one of 14 major cooperation projects between China and Germany, this marked China's first successful acquisition of a German educational institution. Subsequently, Siasun established the Sino-German Siasun Education Group in Shenyang. This acquisition gave Siasun two educational platforms, both domestically and internationally, specializing in talent cultivation for robotics and future intelligent manufacturing.

　　Huize Boyuan is another platform under Siasun, established in April 2014. This investment company has always maintained a low profile, but according to industry insiders, Huize Boyuan was established with the goal of overseas mergers and acquisitions. However, Qu Daokui's approach is the combination of "production and finance." Huize Boyuan is not just about mergers and acquisitions; it's more about using capital to promote the overall layout of the industry.

　　Promoting the widespread adoption of robotics requires a "people's war"

　　Siasun introduced a new concept: "Robotics Town." This will be a new project launched by Siasun nationwide and even globally in the coming period. To lay out the development pattern of the robotics industry and promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, Qu Daokui explained another intention behind the establishment of Huize Boyuan: to use capital to build multiple robotics towns and robotics 5S stores nationwide, using Industry 4.0 thinking to promote the popularization of robots nationwide.

　　Hao Zhangang, executive chairman of Huize Boyuan, said: "As a national strategic industry, robotics and intelligent manufacturing must be deployed nationwide in the short term. The rapid transformation and utilization of cutting-edge technological achievements in traditional industries is imperative. We will use the Robotics Town project to wage a people's war to promote robots."

　　Siasun's core team has always been devoted to scientific research and the transformation of traditional industries. In its early stages, the company once sold a blueprint and a U-disk to a South Korean company for US$400,000. Industry insiders estimate that there are only 4,000 robotics R&D personnel in China, with Siasun accounting for over 3,000. Siasun has accumulated enough plans for transforming industrial systems across China to support further nationwide promotion. Promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries requires intelligent manufacturing. Siasun has the ability to design complete systematic solutions and complete digital and intelligent solutions, but it has not fully exerted its efforts in the domestic market.

　　According to Hao Zangang, Huize Boyuan will rely on the strong technical support of SIASUN, and utilize its capital advantages to build several robot model towns in South China and East China. The robot towns will conduct a comprehensive and systematic data analysis of the surrounding industrial system, provide corresponding solutions, attract robot manufacturing enterprises, and establish robot 5S stores for sales, display, maintenance, and leasing. The robot towns will also showcase future human living models in a concentrated form, serving advanced numerical control technology and automated facilities to daily production and life, and will make new breakthroughs in environmental development, medical and health, and elderly care and assistance. Each such town will require an investment of over 5 billion RMB in basic infrastructure.

　　Hao Zangang believes that the significance of robot towns lies in bringing the advanced technologies of robots and intelligent manufacturing to enterprises and the public, allowing them to experience it firsthand, and thus spontaneously using advanced technological equipment to achieve transformation and upgrading. This is an effective attempt to transform technology into productive forces.

　　Qu Daokui stated that the feasibility of robot towns lies in having innovative sources, technical support, and capital assistance, which is a full manifestation of the platform effect.