China Pushes for Increased Integration of Robotics

China has set a deadline to significantly increase its robotic presence in its manufacturing industry by 2020. Currently, there are 36 robotics per 10,000 industrial workers; the 2020 goal is 150 per 10,000 workers. The driving forces of this shift include labor shortages due to an aging population, as well as the rising of wages due to decreased interest for low-level jobs. 

China is ranked 28th as far as the world's most automated nation. Considering China is the second largest economy in the world, it would be expected that they would be higher in the rankings. However, their 2020 goal would push them into the top 10 most automated countries. Their efforts to reach this goal have been active for years; since 2013, China has purchased more industrial robots per year than any other country in the world. The majority of current robotics present in Chinese factories are foreign-made, but Chinese companies' market shares in these manufacturers are increasing.  

This overhaul of China's industrial workers will set a precedent for other industrial hotspots. China's aging population and lack of interest in low-level jobs has forced them to seek new ways to meet demand while keeping costs low. Their former one-child policy didn't help to replace this gap in the labor force either. Their initial investment phase in new robotics likely won't shift the price of goods too much, but in the long run it will allow for cheaper production and therefore more competitive prices.