Beijing: With China's labour force shrinking under the impact of the now abandoned one-child policy, the world's second-largest economy is turning to machines to try to fill the gap. The working-age population - defined as those from 15 to 59 - fell for the first time in decades in 2012, according to official figures, and has declined ever since. It is expected to carry on falling until at least 2030, and economic growth is also slowing.
China decided to allow couples to have a second child but the looming labour shortage will take decades to address, if at all. The country is already the world's largest market for the mechanical helpers and it will only get bigger, according to the International Federation of Robots, which estimates China will account for 40 per cent of the global industrial robot market.
"The country is facing lots of problems, one of which is a rapid increase in labour costs," said Wang Hesheng, a professor of robotics at Shanghai Jiaotong University. "At the entire state level, China takes the robotics strategy very seriously," he said. The government is investing heavily in robotics research, Wang added, and his students have access to the latest imported robots, including one from leading German robotics firm Kuka.
As demand surges, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on the nation's robot makers to take a larger chunk of the domestic market, currently dominated by foreign players. But it will be a long time before robots become part of everyday life, given the cost and technical challenges.
