China is aiming to become an innovation hub for the global robotics industry by 2025, as it works to achieve breakthroughs in robotics components and widen the application of smart machines in more sectors.

The move is part of the nation's broader push to cope with a graying population and leverage cutting-edge technologies to advance industrial upgrades, experts said.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a five-year plan released on Tuesday that the operating income of China's robotics industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 20 percent from 2021 to 2025.

China has been the world's largest market for industrial robots for eight consecutive years. In 2020, the manufacturing robot density, a metric used to measure a country's level of automation, reached 246 units per 10,000 people in China, nearly twice the global average.