Robotic dragons at our door

It was not long ago that Europeans and Americans worried about China’s cheap labor. They probably still do — but the real threat has evolved.

China is now a global leader in factory automation. It installs more industrial robots each year than the rest of the world combined, and its robot density has already surpassed that of Germany, the US, and Japan.

This transformation marks a decisive shift — from labor-cost advantage to dominance in productivity and precision. Chinese factories powered by robotics and AI are setting new global standards and redefining what industrial competitiveness means. In Europe, it should not be only Mario Draghi sounding the alarm as we fight for our economic relevance.