One dimension of China’s economic statecraft is an explicit (that is to say, clearly preannounced) plan to dominate global markets in certain emerging technologies that Beijing judges to be important, such as those that are part of the ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy, writes Erik Britton, in his October Viewpoint. Robots were always part of that strategy, and they are front and centre right now. From the moment the target sector has been identified (and usually announced), the playbook is