China has 12½ times more robots in its workforce than expected, an independent think tank in Washington Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said in a report. This indicates that Chinese workers are being replaced by robots at the fastest rate in the world, the report claimed, adding, “China does not yet appear to be leading in robotic innovation, but … it is likely only a matter of time before Chinese robotics companies catch up to the leading edge.”
The US think tank found that China is using automation far more than expected based on what workers get paid in manufacturing. The country is using 12½ times more robots than predicted – a huge jump from 1.6 times more in 2017.
On the other hand, the United States uses only 70 percent of the robots it should be using.
The report included research into major companies and insights from global experts. It also found out that production and deployment rates of robotics in China were increasing rapidly as the Chinese government has made robotics industry a priority.
Robert D. Atkinson, ITIF president and author of the report, said, “China is already the largest industrial robot market in the world. In 2022, 52 per cent of all industrial robots in the world were installed in China, up from 14 per cent a decade earlier.”