Reference News website reported on May 12 that the Spanish "Foreign Policy" biweekly website published an article titled "The Industrial Robot War" on May 6. The author is Andres Ortega. The full text is excerpted as follows:

China is winning the race for industrial robotics, while the US is falling behind in this field, even trailing behind European countries with strong capabilities in this area. Has Trump fallen into the "Luddite trap" (a social movement by British workers in the 19th century opposing the Industrial Revolution and textile industrialization - editor's note)?

We are referring to industrial robots. China is winning this war, and Europe is in a favorable position.

In the past decade, the number of industrial robots installed worldwide has increased year by year. In this regard, China leads all other countries. Besides compensating for population decline, it has achieved a technological leap and has become the main exporter of these machines. The New York Times pointed out: "China's secret weapon in the trade war is an army of AI-driven industrial robots that have completely transformed manufacturing." With the flourishing development of the electric vehicle industry, China mainly applies robots to the automotive industry. Electric vehicles have 40% fewer parts than internal combustion engine cars, which also means less labor and easier assembly. Although professional supervision is still required, it greatly promotes the work of robots.

The Asian giant has become the economy with the most installed industrial robots. Driven by the Chinese government, factory automation is experiencing a new round of rapid growth. The holding of the first "Human-Robot Half Marathon" in Beijing between humans and humanoid robots was not coincidental. China and Elon Musk as well as other American companies are heavily investing in humanoid robots, especially in the industrial sector. Now humanoid robots are beginning to appear in factories.

In terms of robot exports, Japan tops the list (accounting for 30.6%), followed by Germany (but the KUKA robot group is owned by China's Midea Group), Denmark, Italy, and Sweden. The US ranks behind, accounting for 4.7%, followed by France, South Korea, and the Netherlands. In terms of value, the US imports of these robots or their components are twice as much as its exports. In other words, in terms of robot installation, manufacturing, and export, the US lags far behind China and even several European countries. In this field, European industry is unlikely to be passive unless it rests on its laurels. However, robots are also not immune to Trump's tariffs, causing concern among both sellers and buyers of robots.

Commercial and industrial wars in fields such as artificial intelligence, automobiles, robots, and quantum technology are intertwined at civilian and military levels. As described by Brian Deese, former director of the White House National Economic Council, Trump may have fallen into the "Luddite trap": imposing tariffs to protect American industry and implementing other measures such as barriers for domestic and foreign researchers could likely sever America's connection with global innovation, despite its leading position in this area. When it comes to industrial robots, there have been bustling figures of humanoid robots inside the White House for some time. (Translated by Liu Lifi)

On March 25, an industrial robot used in an automobile production line was displayed at the Midea KUKA Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Park in Foshan City, Guangdong Province. (Xinhua News Agency)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7503396549368529434/

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