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

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.