The ongoing trade war between the US and China has brought new levels of uncertainty to American manufacturing. One often-overlooked issue is China’s massive robot workforce, which has been growing rapidly across the Pacific.
According to a report by the New York Times, China has become one of the most automated countries in the world, with more capacity than the US, Germany, or Japan. The country’s factories can produce consumer and industrial goods at significantly lower costs while maintaining high-quality products. This is thanks to its massive robot workforce, which produces over 276,000 robots per year.
The US, on the other hand, has shifted its focus towards high-tech products like airplanes, medical devices, and advanced machinery. These products require highly specialized skills that cannot be easily replicated by robots, at least not without a significant shift in the country’s robotics industry.
China’s “Made in China 2025” strategy, launched in 2015, aimed to increase industrial robot production capacity to 100,000 units per year by 2025. The country has successfully deployed this plan, and its robot workforce is now among the largest in the world.
The US faces additional challenges due to its reliance on rare earth metals, which are crucial for robotics and high-tech manufacturing. China’s recent halt on exporting these metals to the US, coupled with its threatening trade tactics, has dealt a significant blow to American manufacturers.
As the trade war continues, it is clear that China is emerging as a leader in the robotics arms race. If the US wants to catch up, cooperation rather than competition is needed.
Source: https://futurism.com/china-robot-army-tariffs