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MMUNITY NEWS
Rise of the
Robots in China
By the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI)
China's production and adoption of robotic China tops list in new robot installations. In 2019,
technology have accelerated rapidly in recent China exceeded industrial robot installations
years, surpassing Japan, the U.S., South Korea, and compared to the next four countries combined. Yet,
Germany with 339,970 units in 2016, constituting it lags in density of robot usage per 10,000 workers.
the largest share of operational robots in the world Robot density is higher in Japan, the U.S., South
at 19%. Moreover, of the $128.7 billion spent Korea, and Germany. But the gap is narrowing.
globally on robotics in 2020, China's share was
36% ($46.9 billion), while the U.S. share was 14% Robot production is also catching up.
($17.5 billion), and the EU was 11% ($14.4 billion). Approximately 5,800 robots were produced in
China in 2012. By 2017, that number had risen
Key drivers behind China's robot expansion more than 20-fold to 131,000.
include a manufacturing sector dominated by
automobiles and electronics, a growing labor The automobile and electronics industries use
shortage, rising wages, and government subsidies the most robots. Since 2009, annual production
aimed at keeping important aspects of the of automobiles in China has exceeded that of the
industrial value chain within China. U.S. and Japan combined. And more than 70% of
the world's computers and electronics are made in
The data. Using the novel China Employer-Employee China today. These industries are likely to continue
Survey (CEES), researchers conducted a longitudinal expanding, and with them, China's use of robots.
study of more than 2,000 of China's manufacturing
firms and more than 20,000 firm workers from five Labor shortage and industrial policy are main
different provinces. The study included two surveys: drivers of robot adoption. China's adoption of
one directed at firms and one directed at workers. robots is driven in large part by a shortage of labor.
Firms were randomly sampled from the third Although China's original success as the "world's
National Economic Census in 2014 and 10 workers factory" was built upon cheap labor, China has
were randomly selected from each firm. been experiencing both a shrinking labor force and
rapidly rising labor costs over the last decade.
Survey questions directed at firms included more
than 1,000 variables: characteristics about the China's working-age population (ages 15-64) is
firm and its head, as well as information on the declining both in absolute size and as a share
firm's management, sales, production, innovation, of China's overall population. The rise of robots
quality control, and human resources. Sampled corresponds to the declining labor force. And although
workers answered hundreds of questions on their robots have taken on many manual, dirty, and health-
background, current job, work history, social hazardous tasks, they have not yet been able to replace
insurance, and personality traits. more delicate routine tasks cost effectively.
27 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
Rise of the
Robots in China
By the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI)
China's production and adoption of robotic China tops list in new robot installations. In 2019,
technology have accelerated rapidly in recent China exceeded industrial robot installations
years, surpassing Japan, the U.S., South Korea, and compared to the next four countries combined. Yet,
Germany with 339,970 units in 2016, constituting it lags in density of robot usage per 10,000 workers.
the largest share of operational robots in the world Robot density is higher in Japan, the U.S., South
at 19%. Moreover, of the $128.7 billion spent Korea, and Germany. But the gap is narrowing.
globally on robotics in 2020, China's share was
36% ($46.9 billion), while the U.S. share was 14% Robot production is also catching up.
($17.5 billion), and the EU was 11% ($14.4 billion). Approximately 5,800 robots were produced in
China in 2012. By 2017, that number had risen
Key drivers behind China's robot expansion more than 20-fold to 131,000.
include a manufacturing sector dominated by
automobiles and electronics, a growing labor The automobile and electronics industries use
shortage, rising wages, and government subsidies the most robots. Since 2009, annual production
aimed at keeping important aspects of the of automobiles in China has exceeded that of the
industrial value chain within China. U.S. and Japan combined. And more than 70% of
the world's computers and electronics are made in
The data. Using the novel China Employer-Employee China today. These industries are likely to continue
Survey (CEES), researchers conducted a longitudinal expanding, and with them, China's use of robots.
study of more than 2,000 of China's manufacturing
firms and more than 20,000 firm workers from five Labor shortage and industrial policy are main
different provinces. The study included two surveys: drivers of robot adoption. China's adoption of
one directed at firms and one directed at workers. robots is driven in large part by a shortage of labor.
Firms were randomly sampled from the third Although China's original success as the "world's
National Economic Census in 2014 and 10 workers factory" was built upon cheap labor, China has
were randomly selected from each firm. been experiencing both a shrinking labor force and
rapidly rising labor costs over the last decade.
Survey questions directed at firms included more
than 1,000 variables: characteristics about the China's working-age population (ages 15-64) is
firm and its head, as well as information on the declining both in absolute size and as a share
firm's management, sales, production, innovation, of China's overall population. The rise of robots
quality control, and human resources. Sampled corresponds to the declining labor force. And although
workers answered hundreds of questions on their robots have taken on many manual, dirty, and health-
background, current job, work history, social hazardous tasks, they have not yet been able to replace
insurance, and personality traits. more delicate routine tasks cost effectively.
27 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
