BEIJING — China's industrial robot production surged 32.5 percent year-on-year in August to 20,663 units, with growth accelerating from 19.4 percent in July, official data showed.

In the first eight months of the year, the country produced 136,873 industrial robots, up 13.9 percent from the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed.

In 2019, the country's industrial robot production totaled about 177,000 units, down 3.1 percent from the previous year.

China is striving to upgrade its labor-intensive manufacturing sector through technological innovation as it faces a shrinking working-age population and increasing labor costs.

In 2016, the country issued a guideline vowing to expand the use of robots in industries such as automobile manufacturing, electronics, home appliances, aviation, textiles, and chemicals.