{"text":[[{"start":10.25,"text":"The head of one of China’s biggest ecommerce groups has warned that its 700,000 delivery workers will be replaced by robots “sooner or later”, underlining the threat from rapid automation to the country’s already strained employment market."}],[{"start":24,"text":"Richard Liu, founder and chair of JD.com, said the company had signed contracts with about 120 schools to retrain its army of couriers for new work such as repairing and maintaining robots."}],[{"start":36,"text":"“In the future, when robots are delivering parcels, sooner or later, there will be a day when couriers are basically no longer needed,” Liu told the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO forum in Shenzhen on Sunday. “It will definitely be robots delivering parcels. But I really do not want our 700,000 brothers to go without meals, without jobs.”"}],[{"start":57.5,"text":"Lui did not forecast when robot deliveries would become widespread in China. However, a number of pilot projects are under way, including airport food delivery robots in Shenzhen that take meals to passengers at gates and others that can ride commuter trains in the technology centre to restock convenience stores, Chinese media have reported."}],[{"start":80.3,"text":"The comments tap into growing concern among policymakers that China’s rapid adoption of robots is threatening the jobs of the economy’s most vulnerable workers. "}],[{"start":90.2,"text":"The number of “gig workers” in China — temporary employees doing mostly blue-collar jobs such as factory work, ride-hailing drivers or deliveries — will reach 320mn this year compared with 200mn five years ago, according to the China New Employment Forms Research Center. Gig workers make up about 40 per cent of all urban employment in China."}],[{"start":110.95,"text":"The threat to blue-collar jobs from robots — and to white-collar positions from AI — comes as the government reported youth unemployment at 16.3 per cent in April. "}],[{"start":121.60000000000001,"text":"Liu said robot repair jobs would become common “because robots are machinery . . . they will always, at some point, have faults”."}],[{"start":129.8,"text":"He said technology should “make human life become better” and work “more interesting”, rather than “take away human beings’ right to work”."}],[{"start":138.55,"text":"Beijing prioritised frontier technologies such as robotics in its next five-year plan, its flagship policy document that was officially approved in March."}],[{"start":148.55,"text":"China’s plan puts “robotics at the heart of its modern industrial system”, the International Federation of Robotics said. “The aim is to pivot its AI research towards physical applications with robots as main drivers for economic growth.”"}],[{"start":163.9,"text":"However, policymakers have been at pains to reassure gig workers of government support. Wang Xiaoping, the human resources and social security minister, said in March the government was “exploring effective ways” to expand areas such as social insurance coverage for these workers. "}],[{"start":180.65,"text":"It was also watching the emergence of “new professions and jobs such as artificial intelligence trainers and drone pilots”."}],[{"start":187.70000000000002,"text":"Human Rights Watch called on the government to protect gig workers’ rights, as set out in the International Labour Organization convention on “Decent Work in the Platform Economy” that China voted in favour of this month."}],[{"start":200.70000000000002,"text":"The convention calls for workers to be allowed freedom of association. Unions in China are required to register with the state-run All-China Federation of Trade Unions. "}],[{"start":211.05,"text":"“Promises on paper will mean little unless workers can organise, speak out, and hold both gig platforms and the government accountable,” Human Rights Watch said."}],[{"start":221.05,"text":"JD.com is one of China’s largest online retailers, competing with Chinese groups Alibaba and Meituan, and operates the Joybuy platform in the UK, France, Germany and other European countries. It listed on Nasdaq in 2014 and has a secondary listing in Hong Kong."}],[{"start":239.45000000000002,"text":"In May, the European Commission opened an in-depth foreign subsidies investigation into JD.com’s €2.2bn bid for German electronics retailer Ceconomy as the EU takes a more aggressive stance towards Beijing."}],[{"start":253.10000000000002,"text":"Additional contributions by Wenjie Ding and Tina Hu in Beijing"}],[{"start":265.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782116233_5722.mp3"}