China has unveiled a five-year plan to become a global leader in automated manufacturing by realizing 20% minimum annual growth in robotics sales, and cultivating industry champions to double its robot density. The International Federation of Robotics ranked China's robot density—the number of robots in use per 10,000 employees—as ninth in the world in 2020, up from 25th in 2015. China intends to digitize 70% of domestic manufacturers by 2025, as well as becoming a global source of robotics innovation by reaching milestones in core robotics technology and high-end robotics products. China wants to have at least 500 smart manufacturing…