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Mark Greeven
Opinion
Mark Greeven

‘China shock 3.0’ is coming. And it’ll be AI-powered robots

China has the manufacturing lead, the world’s biggest training ground and the leading open-source AI models to make robots an export success

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UBTech Robotics launches lifelike humanoid robots in Shenzhen on June 30. Photo: Caroline Wang
Mark Greeven
Mark Greeven is professor of management innovation and strategy and dean of Asia at IMD, where he co-directs the Building Digital Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships programme and the Strategy for Future Readiness programme.

The world’s attention is fixed on frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models, but China’s robot-making factories deserve just as much attention. Chinese e-commerce company JD.com has predicted that robots would ultimately replace its 700,000 delivery workers, while workers at South Korean carmaker Hyundai are threatening strike action over issues including the roll-out of robots.

These are early signs of what could be China’s next export shock. The first “China shock” was from its low-cost manufactured goods. “China shock 2.0” centres on high-end manufacturing, from electric vehicles (EV) to batteries. The next shock could come from AI-powered industrial, humanoid and service robots.

In China, they are intended to offset a shrinking workforce, since the country’s working-age population is projected to fall from 1 billion at its peak to just 300 million by the end of the century. But abroad, robots are poised to become China’s next export machine.

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