Humans 'control' the technology
Automation is taking hold
Salary increases and labour shortages are forcing Chinese companies to embrace automation throughout the manufacturing chain. For many companies, robots are the solution, with China accounting for slightly less than 25 per cent of global shipments for industrial robots last year, according to research firm HIS.
Facing the inevitable, local and national authorities are encouraging the trend by providing support for the manufacture and purchase of robotics in mainland China. Guangdong alone plans to spend more than 943 billion yuan (HK$1.129 trillion) through 2017 to shift production from human workers to roboticised production lines.
Companies in Shenzhen are rapidly creating a local hub for China's robotics industry. It's a boom market, with domestic sales expected to grow 30 per cent in each of the next three years.
The Ministry of Finance is working with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to support the production of a range of robots that can do everything from arc-welding to surgical assistance and public service.
Robots are most visible in the car, electronics and steel industries and have served to improve quality and to perform tasks either impossible or too dangerous for human workers.
Still, the percentage of manufacturing done by robots in China is quite low, according to a 2015 survey by the International Federation of Robotics. Robots stand at 36 per 10,000 workers in China, compared with 292 in Germany and 478 in South Korea.
