China has the manufacturing lead, the world’s biggest training ground and the leading open-source AI models to make robots an export success
3-MIN READ3-MINMark GreevenMark 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. Published: 4:30pm, 5 Jul 2026The 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.
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.
Many people see AI models as the next battleground for economic leadership. But they may be looking at only half the picture. AI models matter but they do not create sufficient economic value on their own. That happens only when they are turned into products, deployed at scale and woven into the fabric of the economy.
