China installed 295,000 industrial robots last year, nearly nine times as many as the U.S. and more than the rest of the world combined, according to the International Federation of Robotics. China’s stock of operational robots surpassed two million in 2024, the most of any country. Of 131 factories and industrial sites recognized by the World Economic Forum globally for lifting productivity through cutting edge technologies such as AI, 45 are in mainland China, while three are in the U.S.
Pretty fascinating. And one of the reasons why even if we re-shore manufacturing jobs they aren’t the same as the ones that powered the post-war middle class. 3 Operators managing an entire factory ?!
Quote Citation: Brian Spegele, “Robots and AI Are Already Remaking the Chinese Economy - WSJ”, 2025-11-25, https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-robots-china-manufacturing-89ae1b42