Jakarta, INTI – China’s population has been on a declining trend in recent years, raising concerns about labor shortages in the manufacturing sector. In response, several factories in China are increasingly relying on industrial robots to perform heavy and repetitive production tasks. Experts highlighted this trend in the World Robotics Report 2025, released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). In 2024 alone, 295,000 new industrial robots were installed in Chinese factories to fill workforce gaps. This trend represents an innovative solution to demographic shifts and an aging population, while maintaining the competitiveness of China’s manufacturing industry.
Robots Fill the Workforce Gap
Since 2022, China’s population has declined, including a decrease of 1.39 million people in the previous year. Despite this, the manufacturing industry continues to operate efficiently thanks to over 2 million active industrial robots performing tasks such as welding car frames, assembling electronic devices, and moving heavy objects with precision. Professor Gao Xudong from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University explained, “Simple and repetitive tasks will increasingly be handled by robots, while creative and complex work still requires human intelligence.”
China Dominates the Global Industrial Robot Market
The IFR report ranks China as the leading country for industrial robot installations in 2024, followed by Japan (44,500 units) and the United States (34,200 units). Global industrial robot installations increased 9 percent to 4.664 million units. With this substantial investment, China manages to maintain the competitive edge of its manufacturing sector, despite a declining human workforce.
High-Skilled Labor Still Needed
Even with millions of robots in operation, Gao emphasized that China still requires highly skilled human workers to support manufacturing and technology industries, including robot maintenance technicians. Projections indicate that by 2030, China will face a shortage of 50 million high-skilled workers, according to the China Human Resources and Social Security Information Center.
Conclusion: Collaboration Between Robots and Human Labor
China’s manufacturing transformation demonstrates a synergy between industrial robots and human workers as a solution to population decline. Robots handle repetitive and heavy tasks, while high-skilled humans are essential for innovation, maintenance, and technology management. This collaboration ensures that China’s manufacturing industry remains globally competitive.
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