China wants more robots but not fewer workers
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Finance & economics | (Robots) serve the people<br>China wants more robots but not fewer workers<br>A human-first approach to automation<br>Share
Van without a manPhotograph: Xinhua News Agency/eyevine
May 11th 2026|Qingdao and Shanghai|4 min read
A year ago the city of Qingdao had just a handful of autonomous vehicles. Now it has more than almost anywhere else on Earth. One firm, Neolix, has put around 1,200 unmanned delivery vans on local roads; it hopes to have 4,000 by the end of the year. With several other autonomous taxi and food-delivery projects under way, Qingdao exemplifies how rapidly artificial intelligence is transforming China. It is also the front line of the clash between unmanned vehicles and drivers.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “(Robots) serve the people”
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