An industrial Robot moves boxes in front of a crowd at the World Robot Conference in Beijing, Oct. 22, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua by Wang Yue]

At the conference, Vice Premier Liu Yandong also urged enhanced research and development of the industry.

Industrial robots are well represented at this year's expo. According to the organizer, industrial robots account for about 40 percent of all robots on display at the show, while the rest are service robots and specialized robots.

The Chinese market for industrial robots is huge. According to the China Robot Industry Association, 68,000 industrial robots were sold in China in 2015, up 20 percent from 2014. China accounted for about a quarter of robot sales globally in 2015, making the country the biggest market for industrial robots for three consecutive years.