This is the dark side of China's growing robotics sector

A rough estimate would show that thousands of Chinese robotics companies may have recorded, on average, annual sales of less than 100,000 yuan each. Mainland media reported that low-end robots have been installed on the assembly line of known labour-intensive factories as a showcase for local government subsidies and left unused. "There remains a big shortage of specialists who can assess the true situation in the country's robotics industry and determine arbitrary decision–making by local governments in granting subsidies," Wang said. His urgent call for a sweeping audit of subsidies to the domestic robotics industry followed a recent nationwide investigation launched by the Ministry of Finance on so-called "new energy vehicle" makers. The agency is targeting electric car manufacturers suspected of fraudulently obtaining subsidies from the government in 2013 and 2014, as well as those firms that applied last year.