China International Robot Show 2015 opens next week in Shanghai. The event is expected to showcase a slew of robots and other innovations including green-energy vehicles.

The show will be held at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center starting Nov. 3 to 7. This is the biggest event in the history of the show. It will feature more than 2,270 firms from 28 different countries.

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According to Shanghai Daily, companies such as SAIC, BYD, BMW, and other carmakers will be displaying their new-energy cars and concept models in a special zone.

Senior executives from the top-five robot companies have been invited to the largest robotics-themed exhibition zone.

Vice chairman Ma Jing of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, one of the event organizers, said that China needs a robot for smart manufacturing and economic structure upgrade. She added that the show will be a festival of robots.

CRI English reported that director-general Qu Daokui of the China Robot Industry Alliance has advocated for humans to make good use of robots. He said that robots can contribute to social development.

China's economic growth has been backed by a rich supply of cheap labor over the decades. According to CNTV, as labor cost increases, the demand for skilled labor also rises, leading many industries to turn to robots to replace manual labor.

The annual growth rate of labor costs in China is 15 percent, while the cost of robots decreases 5 percent every year. The use of robots is therefore more economical in the long term. According to Wang Zhe of the Shaghai Step Robotics Co., Ltd., the demand for quality control in manufacturing keeps growing and robots can ensure much-needed consistent, thereby reducing the need rework and the scrap rate.

China encourages people to use new-energy vehicles by offering tax exemptions, subsidies for car purchases, and a requirement for government officials to buy more new-energy cars.

TagsChina international robot show, BMW, saic, BYD