In the new robotics arena, Tangshan's High-Tech Industrial Development Zone has been making significant strides, forming a robotics industrial cluster that integrates research and development, production, and services, led by industrial robots, highlighted by special robots, and featuring service robots. Against the backdrop of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy, an important question arises: how can the intelligence of Beijing and Tianjin be deeply integrated with the manufacturing capabilities of Tangshan? Recently, a shared manufacturing meeting focused on the robotics industry took place in Beijing and Hebei, bringing the industries of the two regions closer together. By collaborating with Beijing and Tianjin, Tangshan has found the "password" to connect its innovation chain with the industrial chain, gradually building a complete ecological chain of robotics industry from "R&D to incubation to industrialization," and promoting a shift from solo initiatives to collaborative operations.
On October 10, the display screen at the Tangshan Baichuan Robotics Shared Manufacturing Factory showcased various production information. According to Fu Yajie, head of the office at Hebei Eagle Eye Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., “At a recent connection meeting in Beijing, we matched with relevant companies and potential clients from Beijing, which yielded great results and follow-up communications are underway.” Fu Yajie stated that their company is one of the leading players in the field of robotics vision in China, with expertise in three core technologies: robotic systems, AI vision algorithms, and digital intelligence. The meeting mentioned was a part of the Beijing-Hebei Robotics Industry Shared Manufacturing Connection Meeting held on September 16. This meeting represented not only a handshake between the robotics sectors of both regions but also a vivid illustration of the deep integration of regional industrial and innovation chains under the coordinated development strategy.
Tangshan's High-Tech Industrial Park's Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee, Dong Xuezhong, noted, “As the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei moves into its second decade, industrial collaboration has shifted from initial transfer and undertaking to deep integration.” He pointed out that while Beijing has the nation's densest resources for technological innovation, its manufacturing space is limited; in contrast, Tangshan possesses strong manufacturing capabilities and a complete robotics industrial cluster but faces challenges with core technologies and a shortage of high-level talent. Data shows that by 2024, Tangshan will have over 200 robotics companies, accounting for 60% of the provincial total. Finding a way to organically combine the intelligence of Beijing and Tianjin with the manufacturing capabilities of Tangshan has become a crucial topic for driving industry development.
In fact, prior to this connection meeting, some robotics companies in Tangshan had already begun collaborating with enterprises and research institutes from Beijing and Tianjin. In the exhibition hall of the Tangshan-Zhongguancun Robotics Industry Innovation Center, an intelligent explosion-proof inspection robot is actively identifying hazardous gases and transmitting data. Its brain—a high-precision sensor and decision-making algorithm—represents a collaborative breakthrough by Tangshan Baichuan Intelligent Machinery Co., Ltd. and the Beijing Zhongguancun Robotics Industry Innovation Center. “In the past, core components of robots relied on imports, which were costly and time-consuming. Now, through coordinated innovation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, we have overcome the ‘stuck neck’ problem, achieving over 90% localization of our products,” said Li Wei, the technical director of Baichuan Intelligent.
Eagle Eye Technology has also established a research and development center in Beijing to attract local talents for visual recognition and robotics technology development. Fu Yajie explained, “In Tangshan, we focus on smart manufacturing, while the Tianjin team specializes in software algorithms, and the Beijing center conducts oriented R&D based on market demand.” This “distributed R&D plus centralized manufacturing” model exemplifies how Tangshan enterprises actively engage with Beijing and Tianjin.
To institutionalize and normalize collaborative innovation, Tangshan’s High-Tech Industrial Park has actively built high-level platforms. In recent years, institutions like Hebei Robotics Industry Research Institute, Zhongguancun Robotics Industry Innovation Center, and various laboratories have settled in Tangshan, constructing a comprehensive ecological chain from R&D to incubation to industrialization. “At the connection meeting, 11 projects reached preliminary cooperation intentions, and we will continue to explore the conversion model of Beijing's creativity into Tangshan’s production capacity,” Dong Xuezhong stated. According to the Tangshan High-Tech Industrial Park’s "Action Plan for Accelerating the Robotics Industry (2025-2027)", within three years, the scale of the robotics industry is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of over 30%.
Tangshan Baichuan Robotics Shared Manufacturing Factory's General Manager Zhao Hui hardly took a break during the recent National Day holiday. He was often multitasking, holding a phone in one hand while swiftly typing on a keyboard with the other, with the screen filled with chat records from various business contacts in Beijing. “After my thematic speech at the recent robotics industry connection meeting, I received many inquiries from participating companies and added more than ten new contacts on WeChat,” he explained. The companies include those involved in inspection robots, agricultural unmanned devices, and food automation. Their main concern was how to implement Beijing’s “golden ideas” through the shared factory in Tangshan.
The Baichuan Shared Factory, the first of its kind in the country dedicated to the design, R&D, and manufacturing of non-standard robotic products, offers comprehensive services, including design and R&D, procurement, production, financial services, marketing support, and logistical assurance. Here, high-end 3D printers, robotic welding workstations, and intelligent vertical warehouses are open to all resident companies, with a 260-member R&D team on standby for technical support. Additionally, a large-scale procurement system allows even the cost of a single screw to benefit from collective purchasing prices. “The essence of sharing is to let professionals do what they do best,” Zhao Hui noted, emphasizing that many R&D teams from Beijing and Tianjin excel in technology development but often lack production experience, supply chain resources, and marketing channels, which is where the shared factory can provide a full-spectrum service from idea to product realization, enabling innovators to concentrate on innovation.
The automatic cooking robot is a notable example of Beijing’s ideas being realized in Tangshan. On October 10, in the debugging workshop of the Baichuan Robotics Shared Manufacturing Factory, a nearly two-meter-tall cooking robot demonstrated its culinary prowess. The spiral blades pushed the ingredients for Kung Pao Chicken into the heating area, while the base module precisely controlled the temperature, and the oil pump injected soy sauce in pre-set amounts. Soon, a plate of colorful stir-fried dish was ready to be served. This cooking robot was developed by a retired professor from Beijing University of Science and Technology, who faced rejections from numerous institutions due to unclear parameters and complex processes. Ultimately, Baichuan took on this unprecedented project. “The cooking process had to be broken down into four modules: ingredient input, heating, stirring, and output, with each module needing to be fully realized,” Zhao Hui explained, detailing how the technical team meticulously measured the dimensions of the wok to innovate a partitioned heating system.
Meanwhile, the automated bottling production line for the time-honored Wang Zhihe brand was another achievement of the shared factory. Liu Xuemei, deputy general manager of Tangshan Siwei Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., pointed to the bottling robot currently under testing, saying, “These eight small grippers can gently secure the slippery fermented tofu blocks, precisely align them with the 'round mouth and square belly' bottles, and achieve a bottling rate of 4,800 units per hour, equivalent to the output of two skilled workers.” Wang Zhihe Food Group had long been troubled by the challenges of manual bottling, requiring workers to undergo three months of training before starting work, with production lines needing 15 to 20 people, resulting in low efficiency and unstable quality. By proposing the idea of developing a bottling robot to cooperating companies, they were initially informed about the significant difficulties in R&D and production technology. The breakthrough came through the shared factory. Leveraging Baichuan's resources, Siwei Technology quickly assembled a cross-disciplinary team of over 20 people, including six experts from the shared factory, along with technical support from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Institute of Technology. By early 2024, the first domestically produced fermented tofu bottling robot prototype passed inspection, securing one invention patent and six utility model patents. “Without the shared factory, we couldn't have tackled this tough nut,” Liu Xuemei stated, noting that Wang Zhihe is now planning to establish the world's first black-light factory for fermented tofu, while Siwei Technology is simultaneously developing supporting systems for loading and AI detection, expecting full-system industrialization by the end of 2025.
While the intelligent robots in Tangshan initially focused on the steel sector, they are now expanding into broader application areas, such as agriculture, healthcare, and public services. Recently introduced intelligent ecological robots at the Jingtang Port's ore dock show how robotic technology has grown into different fields, featuring functions like cargo pile scanning, spraying, and belt inspections based on AI models for real-time decision-making and precise execution. This AI-powered ecological robot can scientifically identify the moisture levels of cargo surfaces, taking environmental factors into account to arrange spraying operations automatically, saving 8,500 hours of maintenance labor annually.
The sixth mirror intelligent technology company’s general manager, Yang Shengwei, highlighted the robust industrial foundation of Tangshan and its rich application scenarios as factors driving their decision to settle there. The intelligent quality inspection robot they developed is already making significant contributions at the Tangshan Steel Group’s production line, showcasing the long-term benefits of Tangshan's industrial fabric. The growth of enterprises like Eagle Eye Intelligent, which has transitioned from a small startup to an operation with over 260 employees and an annual revenue exceeding 110 million yuan, reflects the supportive environment Tangshan provides for manufacturing innovation.
The Tangshan High-Tech Industrial Park is firmly pushing for the deep integration of “Beijing creativity” with “Tangshan manufacturing” through robotics, aiming to establish a comprehensive ecological chain. By setting ambitious targets of surpassing 20 billion yuan in industrial scale within three years and achieving a growth rate of over 30%, the park has outlined a detailed action plan that emphasizes precise investment attraction, innovative application development, and shared manufacturing.
As Tangshan’s High-Tech Industrial Park moves forward, there’s an emphasis on continuous interaction with the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and key robotics enterprises, organizing frequent industry development connection meetings to facilitate the transfer of technological achievements and project teams from Beijing. Additionally, a focus on accelerating the establishment of “dual flying zones” encourages local enterprises to create "innovation hubs" in Beijing, while simultaneously attracting Beijing enterprises to build "manufacturing bases" in Tangshan.
Despite the promising future for the robotics industry, challenges remain, including insufficient industrial fund support, low local scenario openness, and incomplete policy frameworks. Industry insiders suggest the establishment of a dedicated robotics industry fund at the municipal level to bolster financial support and expedite the local promotion of various application scenarios. By continuing to deepen reforms and optimize the industrial ecosystem, Tangshan aims to accelerate growth and achieve high-quality development in the robotics sector.