China accounted for just under half of all installations of heavy-duty industrial robots last year, reinforcing the nation’s status as the No. Part of the explanation for China’s rapid automation is that it is simply catching up with richer peers. There were around 147 million people employed in China’s manufacturing sector in 2021, according to estimates from the International Labor Organization, down from a 2012 peak of 169 million. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS Do you think China’s automation push will be essential to its economic success? He projects that China will have between 3.2 million and 4.2 million industrial robots working on production lines by 2030, up from around one million currently.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 18, 2022 18:12 UTC