Beyond China's humanoid robots, a quieter machine revolution is unfolding

What the report says

BBC World News reports that China is rapidly expanding its industrial robotics sector, with more than two million robots now working in the country’s factories and production scaling up quickly. The article says the push is part of a broader state-backed effort to advance automation and artificial intelligence, including a reported $20 billion plan aimed at strengthening China’s position in global innovation and competition with the United States.

The BBC visited training centres and factories in Beijing, Hangzhou and Chengdu to show how the shift is playing out on the ground. At the Hangzhou Technician Institute, students are being taught coding, robotics and related skills for a future in which human workers may increasingly work alongside machines. In Chengdu, engineers at CRP Technology are building robotic arms and testing a prototype designed to help make other robots. The company says its products can handle many repetitive industrial tasks.

The report says the automation drive is being accelerated by China’s ageing population and shrinking future workforce, even as around 120 million people still work in manufacturing. That creates a tension between productivity gains and the risk of job losses if the transition moves too quickly. EV maker Leapmotor told the BBC that some production steps have already reached near-complete automation.

The piece also notes that China has an advantage in manufacturing hardware components for robots, while the US still leads in some areas of AI software. It suggests the next stage of competition may depend on how effectively AI can be embedded into large numbers of machines.