BEIJING - China's current labor shortage, increasing awareness of production safety and product quality have provided a golden opportunity for the development of industrial automation - especially the use of robotics, said executives of Zurich, Switzerland-based ABB.

"We envision a great future for robotics' demand in the China market as the country faces a serious labor shortage and puts more attention on safety and quality," said Mark Kingsley, head of robotics with ABB Group, one of the world's largest engineering firms.

"That's the reason we see local robotics' research and development as a very important investment here and we will continue to add to those investments all the time," added Ulrich Spiesshofer, executive vice-president of ABB.