This Aug 20, 2019 photo shows industrial robots during the 2019 World Robot Conference in Daxing District of Beijing, China. (REN CHAO / XINHUA)

BEIJING – China's industrial robot production surged 29.2 percent year on year in June to 20,761 units, with the growth accelerating from 16.9 percent in May, official data showed. 

In the first half of this year, the country produced 93,794 units of industrial robots, up 10.3 percent from the same period of last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. 

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In 2019, the country's industrial robot production totaled about 177,000 units, down 3.1 percent from the previous year. 

China strives to upgrade its labor-intensive manufacturing sector through technological innovation as it faces a shrinking working-age population and increasing labor costs. 

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In 2016, the country issued a guideline vowing to expand the use of robots in industries such as automobile manufacturing, electronics, home appliances, aviation, textiles and chemical.