The Driving Effect of Industrial Robots on International Industrial Transfer: Empirical Evidence from China

Abstract

This paper posits a theoretical hypothesis that economies can secure comparative international advantages in high-tech industries through the use of industrial robots. Based on this hypothesis, the study measures the scale of China’s international industrial transfer from 2008 to 2019 using the ADB International Input-Output Table and empirically examines the impact of industrial robots on these transfers. The findings indicate that: (1) The use of industrial robots has significantly promoted both the outflow and inflow of industries in China, with the overall effect being a net industrial outflow. (2) Industrial robots have facilitated the inflow of high-tech industries and the outflow transfer of low-tech industries, thereby enhancing China’s position in the global value chain. (3) Industrial robots have driven the transfer of industries from high-income countries into China, and from China to middle- and low-income countries. (4) For BRI countries, industrial robots help to prevent the backflow of labor-intensive industries into China, thereby protecting its high-tech sectors and promoting the absorption of industrial transfers from high-income economies along the BRI.