Embracing robots

The world robot population is set to reach 2.6 million during 2019, according to the International Federation of Robots, about one million higher than in 2015. The EU is now the frontrunner for use of robots in manufacturing, but by 2019 more than 40 per cent of industrial robots will be sold to China.
China is already the largest producer of industrial robots – supplying about 30 per cent of the global market, according to the Federation. It is also the largest buyer of robots, with Chinese factories having spent more than US$3 billion (Bt99.2 billion) acquiring industrial robots since 2015. Most of the robots China makes are relatively simple and the industry is heavily dependent on imported parts to produce them.
China has two policies focused on achieving its automation goals. “Made in China” seeks to transform the country into a leading technological industrial nation backed up by high-tech labour and manufacturing by 2025. The Robotics Industry Development Plan, a five-year plan issued last year, targets annual robot production of 100,000 units by 2020, at which point the government wants a minimum of half of all installed robots to be locally made.
Research shows the country is well on its way to achieving these goals. Some US industrialists are taking the threat so seriously they have called on President Trump to invest $100bn so they can compete with China. Lower costs are also making robots more accessible to a wider range of companies and sectors. Robot arms today cost anything from $25,000 to $400,000, about 25 per cent lower than they did in 2014. Prices are forecast to fall by about the same proportion by 2025. 
Non-industrial robots, of course, can be much cheaper, starting at $1,000. Once installed, operating costs for robots can be significantly lower than for humans. China is taking significant strides towards its goal of leading high-tech automated production globally. Foxconn has already installed more than 40,000 robots across the country. Lower prices have encouraged local firms to enter the automation game, with some already replacing workers with robots costing just 40,000 yuan (Bt201,000).
While China looks likely to win the global robot wars, at least in the near term, policymakers in Beijing must not forget to address the human side of an increasingly automated economy. Given that robots can replace many menial jobs, and an increasing number of higher-skilled ones, what does the future hold for the people whose old jobs no longer exist?
If the Made in China policy is successful in finding solutions to these challenges, which I am confident it will be, then the country will not only lead the world in terms of technology usage and manufacturing, it will also help solve one of the greatest philosophical concerns since robots were first envisaged.