China is now the world's top maker of industrial robots, accounting for 60 percent of the global market.

China's shipments of robots of all kinds exceeded 68,000 sets in 2015, accounting for 26.7 percent of the global market. Chinese service robotics are also making their mark. China's service robotics lead the world in firefighting, disaster relief, healthcare and catering.

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Some 75 percent of robot shipments over the past five years were from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United States and Germany, said the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The average growth of China's robot market over the period stood at 17 percent annually.

With its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, IFR is a professional non-profit organization established in 1987 to promote, strengthen and protect the robotics industry worldwide.

"Not only the increasing market size, but I am also optimistic about the manufacturing and development of China's industrial robotics," said Wang Yu, a professor of engineering at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Wang said after just one year, one-third of all industrial robots used in China were manufactured domestically, and the percentage is still rising.

As for service robots, an estimated 94,800 professional service robots will be installed from 2013 to 2018, with total sales of $17.1 billion, said IFR. Medical and military robots accounted for 55 percent of the total sales.

Remebot, China's first neurosurgery robot, was a hit at the recent World Robot Conference in Beijing that also featured some of the most human-looking robots yet made. Its designers said Remebot was accurate to just one millimeter. They noted this robot will allow brain surgeries to be completed in as little as 30 minutes compared to the hours this difficult procedure takes today.

One of the androids at the conference, Jia Jia, is among the most lifelike and most beautiful robots yet made. She also talks.

"Please do not stand too close or my pretty face will be too big in your photos," says Jia Jia.

Apart from speaking Chinese, Jia Jia can also recognize faces, identify the gender and age of people and detect facial expressions.

Service robots are normally used in coal mining, power generation and oil exploitation, but can also accomplish much in anti-terrorism, criminal investigation and explosives handling.

Tagsindustrial robots, service robots, china, International Federation of Robotics, Jia Jia