DEVELOPING THE ROBOTICS INDUSTRY IN SHANGHAI

by Ildikó Nagy

BY 2040, AROUND A THIRD OF CHINA’S POPULATION WILL BE OVER 60, AND A WIDE RANGE OF POLICY DECISIONS – FROM FAMILY ALLOWANCES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROBOTICS – ARE BEING TAKEN TO CURB THE TREND.

Tackling the problem is complex, as ageing affects a wide range of areas, from birth rate trends to childcare, education, employment, healthcare and pensions, meaning that effective responses require strong leadership and comprehensive policy decisions.

Many countries in the East Asian region are struggling with the problem, including South Korea, Japan and China, which has a population of 1.4 billion. Over the past decade, China has introduced a two- and three-child policy, started to reform its pension system, and has taken numerous decisions to support youth and education.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digitalisation processes globally, and China is also placing increasing emphasis on developing the digital economy and the industrial application of technological innovations, which in the longer term could alleviate employment difficulties. In this spirit, Shanghai announced in January 2023 a plan for the development of the robotics industry, with plans to build ten leading robotics brands and create around 100 application areas by 2025.

The developments will increase the size of the industry to RMB 100 billion (USD 14.75 billion). By integrating robots and artificial intelligence, and by applying intelligent robots in various industries, the plan will contribute to the objectives of improving the quality of local industry and could replace older workers with lower retraining potential who are leaving the labour market.