"‘Robot revolution’ forces China’s human workforce to adapt,"

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More significantly, Zongwei is developing a technology that clearly falls into the category of “smart manufacturing”, which also encompasses the use of robots that are displacing human labour.

Beijing has so far embraced what it calls the “robot revolution” as a way to tackle rising labour shortages in its rapidly ageing population, offering the sector tax breaks and subsidies to encourage investment and procurement. Its success, however, will still depend on the human factor — specifically, on whether the remaining workforce will have the skills to handle these sophisticated machines...

China’s manufacturing industry relies heavily on its nearly 300mn migrant workers, who leave their rural areas for urbanised coastal regions in search of better-paid factory jobs. However, despite improving education levels, as of last year just 52 per cent of migrant workers had a middle school education, while 14 per cent had only a primary school education.

Researchers have found that these migrant workers are the most likely to be displaced by robots. “Where robot adoption is higher, there is a reduction in the influx of workers from migrant areas,” says Osea Giuntella, associate professor of economics at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of a National Bureau of Economic Research paper on the labour response to automation in China...

While some countries view rising automation as a threat to stable employment, Chinese policymakers view it as a tool to ensure the country remains a competitive destination for manufacturing.

Workers have responded, meanwhile, either by taking early retirement or engaging in technical training to gain a competitive edge over the machinery, according to the NBER paper.

“There is a perception that the economy is changing, and workers have to make a drastic decision: to undergo training or to go into retirement because the investment in their own human capital is not worth it,” Giuntella says...

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