At the 2025 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, JD.com founder Richard Liu delivered a keynote speech highlighting how AI and robotics could revolutionize China's logistics sector and labor market.

Liu revealed that China's social logistics costs as a percentage of GDP have dropped from 18.9% in 2006 to 14.1% in 2024. He projected this figure could fall below 10% within five years through automation, potentially boosting corporate profits by trillions annually if reduced to 6%. The key bottleneck, he noted, lies in battery technology for unmanned systems.

JD Logistics has already tested autonomous trucks for hundreds of thousands of kilometers and plans to launch the world's first fully unmanned delivery station by April next year. With smart locks installed in 50% of Chinese households—expected to reach 90% penetration in five years—robots may soon handle last-mile delivery including in-home package placement.

Addressing automation-induced job concerns, Liu proposed a three-pronged solution: 1. Legislating shorter workweeks (potentially as little as one day) 2. Emerging service sectors like tourism (projected to grow tenfold) creating new roles 3. Heavy taxation on tech monopolies to fund social welfare

"Technological progress always increases societal wealth," Liu asserted, citing examples like Nvidia's $5 trillion valuation. He suggested governments could impose 90% taxes on monopolistic tech firms to redistribute gains, ensuring equitable outcomes without employment anxieties.

The executive emphasized that despite logistics accounting for just 14.1% of GDP, reducing inefficiencies (like cutting average product handlings from 7.2 to 5 times) remains critical for economic optimization. JD's decade-long investment in unmanned warehouses now positions it to lead this transformation once battery tech matures.