Eastern China Factories Replace Workers With Robots Amid High Unemployment

Labor costs encourage the transition to robots, industry professionals said, and Beijing’s policy aims to accelerate it.

Xpeng’s next-gen Iron humanoid robot speaks to media during a showroom tour at its headquarters in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, on Nov. 5, 2025. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

Some factories in eastern China’s Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have recently increased testing and deployment of humanoid robots to replace human workers amid the country’s persisting high unemployment, according to Chinese media reports and local industry professionals who spoke with The Epoch Times.

Humanoid robots from Beijing Xingdong Jiyuan Technology were flipping packages on a conveyor belt to ensure the shipping labels face upward before sorting them into the corresponding slots in Guangzhou city on June 9, according to Chinese media reports.