China manufacturing, AI pose an ‘existential threat' to US in robotics sector
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Automation enabled by intelligent robots will allow for a massive expansion in production capacity across industries, and China is currently 'the only country that is positioned' to achieve a high level of automation, according to a report published this week by US-based independent research company SemiAnalysis.
'China's robotics localisation effort is well under way,' the report said. It pointed out that Chinese manufacturers' share in the world's largest robotics market was approaching 50 per cent, up from 30 per cent in 2020.
'While Chinese manufacturers are currently on par with Western giants in the low-end market, our supply chain review leads us to believe that local firms are beginning to take over the higher-end market segments.'
The rise of
Unitree Robotics exemplifies that shift. The
Hangzhou -based
start-up makes 'the only viable humanoid robot on the market', according to the report. It pointed out that Unitree's G1 robot was also 'entirely decoupled from American components'.
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Should China achieve full-scale automation 'without the US following suit', it would pose 'an existential threat' to the world's largest economy, according to the report. That scenario would see China benefit from a 'massive expansion in production capacities [across various industries] supported by intelligent robotics systems'.
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