China has become a global forerunner in terms of robot density, overtaking Germany and Japan to occupy the No 3 spot globally in the rankings of the use of robots in industry last year, according to an annual report released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The report underscored the growing competitiveness of China's industrial robot sector that is buoyed by tech innovation, massive manufacturing and policy measures. Robot density usually serves as a barometer to track the degree of automation adoption in the manufacturing industry. While China's has been climbing up the index at a rapid pace, the U.S.' ranking has been consistently falling in recent years, standing in 11th place globally last year.
The sharp contrast is a result of the U.S.' stepped-up tech blockade against China, observers pointed out, which shows that Washington's decoupling approach is backfiring – as it not only failed to suppress China's advancement in one of the cutting-edge technology fields but is also undercutting the ambition to revive American manufacturing. According to the IFR report, China recorded a high robot density of 470 robots per 10,000 employees last year, which compared with 402 units in 2022. China only entered the top 10 in 2019, and the country has managed to double the robot density within four years, the report stressed. Takayuki Ito, IFR President, said that China's high robot density is a result of significant investment in automation technology.
The 2023 list was led by South Korea, with Singapore coming in second. Germany and Japan – which ran ahead of China in the 2022 list – were in fourth and fifth places in 2023, respectively, right after China's third position. The global average robot density reached a record 162 units per 10,000 employees in 2023. For the U.S., the robot density last year was 295 units, meaning that China's reading was more than 50% higher than the U.S.' based on the Global Times' calculation. The U.S. ranked 11th in 2023, down one place compared to 2022. The country was 9th in 2021, and 7th in 2020.
China is home to “the world's largest, most comprehensive, and best-supported industrial chain system,” which also offers a leg up, UBTech Robotics said in a statement. The Chinese company said this advantage is irreplaceable and will continue to strengthen with China's ongoing industrial transformation and upgrading. “The low robot density in the U.S. is partly due to its manufacturing sector's hollowing-out trend, though the government has set the goal to incentivize the return of manufacturing,” Fang Xingdong, Founder of Beijing-based technology think tank ChinaLabs, told the Global Times.
