China has already taken a significant step into Germany. In the Rheinhausen district of Duisburg, trains are now rolling across the site where steelworkers once fought unsuccessfully to save their mill in 1987 while shipyard cranes stack up containers on the banks of the Rhine River. This is the precise point where the New Silk Road, China's massive infrastructure project, comes to an end. The site in Duisburg is known as Logport I and it is one of the largest container ports in Europe. Twenty-five trains arrive each week at Terminal DIT, also known as the China Terminal, after having traveled the more than 10,000 kilometers from Chongqing across Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland. Four years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the inland port.

Recent news about growth of Chinese robotics and related AI indicate just how massive their investments are and how well they are paying off. For example, 90% of the personal robots on display at the IFA consumer electronics trade show held in Berlin in September were developed and manufactured by Chinese companies. Further, Preqin reported that Q3 venture-backed deals totaled $49 billion. Included in the top 10 deals were Uber-competitor Grab's raising $2 billion from SoftBank and Didi Chuxing and Alibaba's $1.1 bn investment in eBay-like Tokopedia and $.8 bn to Cainiao (see below). Half of the top 10 were in Asia; only three were for US-based companies.

KUKA also had good Q1/17 earnings as did Intuitive Surgical. As a result, iRobot adjusted upward their 2017 revenue forecast. According to CEO Colin Angle, iRobot has shipped over 15 million robotic home floor cleaners through 2016. Last year iRobot divested its Defense and Security Division for $45 million to a VC which shortly thereafter launched Endeavor Robotics. Thus iRobot is now exclusively a commercial robotics provider.

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2015 file photo, Germany's Kuka Robotics Co.'s robot LBR iiwa demonstrates a flower arrangement at the International Robot exhibition in Tokyo. Chinese appliance maker Midea has promised that German industrial robot maker Kuka will remain independent, as it seeks to allay fears about its takeover bid for the company. Midea's chairman said Thursday, June 16, 2016 that it doesn't intend to "dominate Kuka or delist the business" as it released more details about the share offer announced last month.

Unlike the Greek sorceress it resembles in name, Midea Group doesn't have to be a prophet to realize it can no longer rest on cheap Chinese labor and low-end technology. That's why this top Chinese appliance manufacturer is willing to splash out for a German robotics giant. Shenzhen-listed Midea wants to lift its stake in Kuka to at least 30% from the current 13.5%, for a price that would value the German high-end robotics maker's shares at 5.2 billion. That investment may trigger an open offer for all of Kuka's shares....