Latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs show that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area achieved a robust 18.8% year-on-year growth of 18.8% in the first five months of this year, fueled by high-end manufacturing and trillion-yuan industrial clusters. Industrial robots have recently become a widely discussed highlight: data indicates one out of every three palletizing collaborative robots sold globally is manufactured in Dongguan, Guangdong, a renowned manufacturing hub. By breaking industry payload limits and claiming the top spot in global sales, Dongguan-made palletizing robots have emerged as a pacesetter for industry standards.
Palletizing robots have broken the outdated stereotype of traditional industrial robots as bulky and cumbersome to operate. Serving as tireless intelligent handlers, they can automatically stack goods neatly and rapidly onto pallets, and work alongside ordinary workers without safety fences. Enterprises have independently developed AI operating systems equipped with advanced graphical programming, enabling plug-and-play functionality for complex robotic arms that regular workers can master quickly.
To address the longstanding pain point in heavy industry of reconciling high payload capacity with high precision, local firms have made breakthroughs in high-voltage drive technology and launched collaborative palletizing robots with a maximum payload of 80 kilograms, setting a new industry record. Compared with conventional industrial robots, these palletizing robots adopt a lightweight design, covering a floor area of merely 2.5 square meters and weighing only 350 kilograms. They can stack goods up to 2.1 meters high and process 12 cartons per minute at high speed. Statistics show the company claimed the No.1 position in global collaborative robot shipments in 2025 with a 33% market share.
Teng Lei, Deputy Chief of Dongguan Customs under Huangpu Customs, stated that Dongguan’s exports of industrial robots have exceeded 160 million yuan so far this year, reaching more than 60 countries across the globe. Exports to emerging markets including Thailand, Turkey and Mexico have doubled year-on-year, covering a full spectrum of robots such as welding, handling and assembly models.
Driven by industrial robots, exports of AI-related products have surged sharply this year. In the first five months, China’s total imports and exports of AI-linked goods including electronic components, computer parts and optical fiber cables hit 4.12 trillion yuan, jumping 52.4% year-on-year.
Lü Daliang, Director of the Statistics and Analysis Department of the General Administration of Customs, said China’s imports and exports of AI-related products have expanded month by month this year. These products not only meet domestic demand for industrial intelligent upgrading but also deliver stable supplies to the global AI industry, steadily raising the intelligence content of China’s foreign trade.
High-tech Industries Propel Central China’s Foreign Trade Up 19.5% Year-on-Year
Central China registered an outstanding 19.5% growth in foreign trade in the first five months, ranking among the nation’s top performers. The strong expansion stems from an optimized export industrial structure, with high-tech products accounting for over 30% of total exports and emerging as a new engine of trade growth.
Anhui’s foreign trade rose 32.9% in the first five months, with high-tech industries making remarkable contributions. At a leading display manufacturer in Hefei, fully automated module production lines assemble one screen every 4.5 seconds.
Zhang Wei, a person in charge of the enterprise, said the solution boosts display resolution by more than 2 times, brightness by 4 times and service life by 6 times.
Bolstered by technological innovation, industrial clusters and an increasingly robust overseas layout, Hefei’s exports of high-tech products have maintained double-digit growth since the start of the year.
Li Fuheng, Chief of the First Supervision Section of Luzhou Customs under Hefei Customs, noted that Hefei’s exports of high-tech products have skyrocketed this year. Exports of liquid crystal display panels, high-end vehicle-mounted screens, integrated circuits and other products exceeded 70 billion yuan, surging over 70% year-on-year, forming a co
