La Jornada: Robots, a Chinese option to avoid the crisis of the care system

Beijing. The crisis in care systems is not exclusive to the West. China, the second most populous country in the world, faces a new paradox. It has had a net reduction in its population for four years – more people die than are born – and practically one in four of its inhabitants is over 60 years old, which indicates a new urgent task. Who and how will care for the millions of older adults in a country where population replacement seems impossible?

The quick answer seems to be found in the humanoid robots that the Asian giant develops at all scales; from large corporations such as Unitree Robotics, Galbot or Noetix Robotics to small research centers where young scientists train machines to read and make microexpressions, make eye contact, modulate tone, pauses and timing, among others, to make the interaction “more human”.

“PolyFaceX supports facial detection and tracking, enabling eye contact and precise gaze tracking, creating a more realistic interaction. This makes communication between humans and robots feel less like talking into the air and more like interacting with a real companion who can really respond (…) It is ideal for a variety of scenarios, including companionship at home,” comments Liu Zikang, founder and CEO of Beijing Lightone Interactive Company, a small company located in Huairou.

PolyFaceX is just a sample of what is happening in China and where the care robot market is going.

During the broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala, which was echoed in the world’s media by robots that make kung fu movements and dance alongside people in a choreography, an outline of the domestic use that intelligent automatons could have was projected to millions of viewers.

A commercial video shows a young man facing an elderly woman who reproaches him for his lack of “visits to grandma,” while interacting with small robots that perform companionship and household chores. The plot takes a twist when “the grandmother” enters the scene, and it becomes clear that the first old woman is actually a humanoid robot developed by Noetix Robotics. Beyond the debate about how “real or not” the robot-grandmother may look, the message is about caring for the elderly.

China has long been the main manufacturer and consumer of robots. According to data from the International Federation of Robotics, reported in September, this country added more than 2 million industrial robots working in its factories last year, an annual increase of 7 percent. And it has installed 295 thousand additional units, which represents more than half of global demand (54 percent).

However, beyond industrial use, the deployment of intelligent robots for home use is an area that does not seem minor as a market. According to a Citi study, recovered by specialized financial media, the market for humanoid robots will reach 7 billion dollars in 2050. And, according to the commercial research platform Intel Market Research, the global size of the robot market for the elderly is estimated to reach 6.12 billion in 2034, which will represent a compound annual growth of 15.1 percent in the coming years.

Currently, China has the capacity to assemble 10,000 humanoid robots per year at an automated plant in Foshang, Guangdong. According to local media, the machines produce a humanoid robot every 30 minutes.

Beyond the market figures, the demographic slope is a reality, with all the effects it has on the workforce and the economy.

According to data from the National Statistics Office of this country, last year 15.9 percent of the Chinese population, 223 million 650 thousand, was over 65 years old. More broadly, 323 million were over 60, representing about 23 percent of the total population, and that latter group is expected to climb to 400 million within a decade, highlighting pressures for care services and a smaller workforce.

As the population ages, it is also shrinking in net terms, as one of the tail effects of the one-child policy that prevailed until October 2015. Last year, 7,920,000 births were recorded in 2025, the lowest level since 1949, and below deaths.

So, as a result, China closed 2025 with a population of 1.405 million people, 3.39 million less than in 2024, and a life expectancy that has reached an average of 79 years.

At that point, China is close to the need to cover traditional care systems and reduce the gap in the availability of professional caregivers.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued guidelines calling for the use of advances in technology for application in elderly care, ranging from brain-computer interfaces, exoskeletal robots to muscle suits to help the elderly with their deteriorating physical condition, as well as the extensive use of humanoid robots and artificial intelligence in tasks to meet their care needs.

Intel Market Research predicts that the care robot market will allow older adults to live independently in their homes, by having vital sign checks and monitoring, voice interaction powered by artificial intelligence, mobility assistance, fall detection and other companionship capabilities covered by a robot. Beyond business statistics, the definitive thing is that the aging of the population is a global snowball.

According to the United Nations, at the end of the 2070s, the world population aged 65 or over will reach 2.2 billion people, a number that, according to the organization’s estimates, will be higher than the number of children under 18 years of age.