CHINA'S AUTOMATION CHORUS

WITH digital payments via mobile phone already now rivalling cash for many purchases, growing numbers of pharmacies, bookstores and other retailers have dispensed with cashiers, allowing -

Customers to order and pay for their desired merchandise, which is often handed over by a robot.

Alibaba's e-commerce rival JD.com has announced plans to open 1,000 restaurants by 2020 in which food will be prepared and served by robots.

JD.com and others are also working to incorporate airborne drones into their delivery networks.

The movement could help companies reduce costs as growth rates in China's e-commerce boom begin to plateau.

''Before, everyone was all going for rapid expansion. Now the growth is gone and everyone has to
focus on improving their operations,'' said Jason Ding, a China-retail expert with  Bain & Company;

''Operation is all about cutting costs and providing better service. So those automated machine technologies, in the right place, can play a role there.''

At Robert.He, customers book tables and order entrees via apps, and the diner's novelty draws long queues.

Ma Yiwen, 33, brought nearly a dozen colleagues with her. ''We are all foodies and we use our lunchtime to try good food near our office. The idea of a Robot  delivering food to our table is very innovative so we wanted to see it ourselves,'' she said.

The restaurant says automation helps keep costs down, an additional lure for  20-year-old customer Shenpeng, who comes once a week.

''Normally for two or three  people, a meal costs about 300-400 yuan, but here, all this table of food is just over yuan,'' he said.

Chinese AI advocates predict that robots will someday perform a range mundane duties as living standards rise, from delivery to sweeping floors and providing companionship, particularly as -

China's labour force has shrunk due to the recently relaxed  one-child population control policy.

But   it's a delicate     issue for Chinese  policy-makers  due to the potential for  human job losses, and the government is in the midst of a long-term push to develop the country's services industry partly as a job creator, as manufacturing increasingly becomes mechanized.

Wang Hesheng, a robotics professor at Shanghai's Jiaotong University, said the cost of  robot remains too high for widespread consumer use and that many companies were merely jumping on the government's hi-tech band wagon.

But robotics could spread if  China labour costs continue to grow, he said.

''Maybe when labour costs rise higher and higher, robots will balance out humans,'' he said. [Agencies].