This in many ways is quite desirable. China has so much excess labour that automation would cause severe problems.<p>I once worked with a North American automated parking meter company that was ambitious at entering the untapped Chinese market for parking meters.  This was doomed since parking is almost always done by a parking attendant, even on the street.  Parking is also often controlled by the owner of the block.  The attendant is usually someones uncle or whatever that needs a subsistence job.<p>Another example are elevator attendants who sit on stools (often in private apartment buildings) and press the button for you.   They often come with the building and are relatives of the manager or property developer.  Absurd, but there you go.<p>Chinese work gangs always take at least 3 times more people to do the same job that you'd do in the west.  Most of the peoples jobs in such a gang is to sit around watch and offer advice as far as I could tell.