The support of the “government” has been decisive.
Whether we like it or not, the industrial revolution of the 21st century has a well-defined protagonist, China, and I am not here to defend it, I always bring facts for you. In the last year alone the country installed nearly 300,000 new robots in its factories, alone surpassing the total number of installations made by the rest of the world.
The feat consolidated the nation as the largest global automation hub with more than 2 million machines in operation, five times more than the United States (References will be at the end). This movement is not accidental, since 2015 with the Made in China 2025 Plan, Beijing has been outlining a clear strategy to reduce dependence on foreign technologies and assume leadership in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Almost unlimited loans from state banks, low interest, subsidies, incentives for mergers, even help for the acquisition of foreign companies. The result is visible. Since 2017, China has installed more than 150,000 robots per year and now accounts for a third of all manufacturing production on the planet, surpassing traditional giants such as Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States itself.
While North American factories installed just 34,000 robots in the last year, Chinese factories multiplied that figure by almost 10. One detail is striking: in 2024, for the first time, the majority of robots installed in Chinese factories were domestically manufactured, revealing an industrial ecosystem that is maturing rapidly.
And this wave is not just restricted to industrial robots.
The country is betting heavily on the next frontier, humanoids. Companies like Unitree Robotics lead the race with entry-level models that cost around $6,000, a fraction of the price charged by Western companies. The expectation is that Unitree will open capital until the end of 2025, further boosting the sector.
The expansion is also supported by two strategic factors, on the one hand, the workforce, thousands of technicians, electricians and programmers capable of installing and operating robots, even with the current shortage of specialists raising salaries to close to $60,000 annually, and on the other, the artificial intelligence used to monitor, optimize and anticipate failures in factory equipment.
The picture is clear, with planning, investment and scale, China is transforming its factories into automated fortresses, shaping a future where the production line will depend less and less on the human hand.
