China Expands Factory Automation to Counter Looming Labor Shortage

Factories across China are rapidly accelerating industrial automation to prepare for demographic shifts, deploying over two million industrial robots to maintain manufacturing output as the national workforce ages and shrinks. China now produces more than half of the world's industrial machinery and is heavily investing in technical training institutions like the Hangzhou Technician Institute to educate future engineers alongside automated systems. Technical instructor Chen Tianyu monitors about 30 college students studying code and programming industrial robots intended for manufacturing and medical instrument development.

"I take a nap and the world changes," said Chen Tianyu, teacher at Hangzhou Technician Institute.

Chen encourages his students to master artificial intelligence and robotic coding to adapt to changing industrial demands. "If you are not needed by the world of AI and robotics, then you'll definitely be among those eliminated," said Chen Tianyu, teacher at Hangzhou Technician Institute.

The push is part of a $20 billion national initiative championed by President Xi Jinping to position the country at the forefront of global innovation, competing directly with the United States. At a CRP Technology facility in Chengdu, 30 human workers build robotic arms alongside engineers developing prototypes capable of basic repetitive tasks like scanning QR codes.

"Maybe in another half year, it can do another task," said Pang Kai, research and development team member at CRP Technology. The company employs 300 people and has produced customized robotic arms for nine years, covering car assembly, electronics, and wind turbine construction. "We want our new robot to be like human beings. We hope it can think by itself," said Pang Kai, research and development team member at CRP Technology.

Company engineers view automation as a necessity to handle labor shortages caused by shifting demographics over the coming decade.

"We need these kinds of robots because maybe in 10 years, we won't have enough workers in China," said Pang Kai, research and development team member at CRP Technology. Official estimates project that more than one-third of China's population will be over age 60 by 2035, while the country risks losing nearly 60 million working-age people over the next decade. However, industry leaders emphasize that full automation presents practical maintenance challenges and cannot instantly replace human assembly lines.

"In theory, machines can work 24 hours a day, which is certainly an advantage compared with human workers. But machines also require maintenance. Every day we need time for that, and each month the production line also requires inspection and repair," said Cao Li, vice-president of Leapmotor.

With roughly 120 million citizens still working in manufacturing, officials are attempting to balance the rapid expansion of factory automation without triggering severe disruptions to traditional wage earners.