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Rise of the robots: China automates to maintain its global competitiveness
AutomationRise of the robots: China automates to maintain its global competitivenessRise of the robots: China automates to maintain its global competitiveness
Chinese manufacturers are confronted with two critical manpower issues: A declining working-age population and skyrocketing wages.According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the average monthly wage for a worker in China was $613 in 2013 (the most recent year for which data is available) compared with $391 in Thailand and $183 in Indonesia. Further, China's National Bureau of Statistics reported that the working-age population—defined as those between ages 16 and 59—fell by 371,000 in 2013 to about 915 million in 2014.
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