Humanoid robots gain ground in China’s tech landscape

WASHINGTON — Chinese state media and diplomatic missions are ramping up efforts to promote China’s technological advancements in humanoid robotics and their mass production, after the AI-powered human-like robots became a sudden sensation in China following their debut on the stage of the country’s annual Spring Festival Gala.

Despite China’s push, industry analysts say the U.S. still holds a key advantage in this field, and the widespread use of these robots remains uncertain and far off in the future.

Humanoid robots take China by storm

Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics gained overnight fame after its humanoid robots performed a traditional Chinese dance at the 2025 Spring Festival Gala. Following the event, Unitree’s H1 and G1 humanoid robots were made available for online purchase in China, drawing media attention.

Demonstrations of the G1 model showcased its ability to run, jump, dance, and even mimic martial arts movements.

The H1 robot is priced at 650,000 yuan ($89,200), and the G1 model is significantly cheaper at 99,000 yuan ($13,600). The hype surrounding humanoid robots has also fueled investment in related industries, including bearings, electromechanical systems, transmission components and reduction gears.

At the same time, Chinese embassies and state media have intensified efforts to highlight the country’s achievements in robotics.

On Feb. 24, China’s embassy in the U.S. posted a video on the social media platform X featuring a humanoid robot from Shenzhen-based EngineAI performing a backflip. The state-run China Daily also published an article the same day claiming that Chinese robot manufacturers are moving toward “mass production” and offering affordable products for consumers.

The article emphasized that Unitree’s G1 robot, priced under 100,000 yuan, is significantly cheaper than Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot which, when they are made available for purchase, could be priced between $20,000 and $30,000, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

China Daily suggested that China’s pricing strategy “could accelerate the adoption of humanoid robots across various industries” in the country.

A Citibank report estimates that by 2050, there could be 648 million humanoid robots worldwide. Goldman Sachs projects the humanoid robotics market could be worth $38 billion by 2035.

U.S. has the “brain,” China has the “body”

Both the U.S. and China are at the forefront of humanoid robotics. Industry analysts say that while the U.S. dominates AI software development — the “brain” of humanoid robots — China has made significant strides in hardware manufacturing — the “body” of these machines.

American companies such as Tesla, Boston Dynamics and Figure AI lead in AI-driven robotics innovation. Meanwhile, Chinese firms like UBTech and Unitree Robotics have made rapid strides, leveraging the country’s extensive supply chain and state support to push for large-scale production and commercialization.

California-based startup Figure AI recently announced that its Figure 02 humanoid robot will begin “alpha testing” in household settings in 2025 — two years ahead of schedule. Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock credited the progress to the company’s “generalist” Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model, Helix.

A demonstration of Figure AI’s robot showed it sorting groceries, pouring milk and folding laundry, highlighting its advanced perception and decision-making capabilities.

An article from China’s Chongqing Zhiyuan Institute of Robot Industry Ecology noted that international humanoid robots are “evolving rapidly” and have “entered a phase of high-dynamic motion.”

While China’s hardware capabilities are approaching global standards, future progress will depend on government policy support, it said.

In November 2023, China introduced its “Guiding Opinions on Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots,” outlining plans to secure key component supply chains by 2025, and develop a stable industrial ecosystem by 2027.

But a Foreign Policy article in January pointed out that China still lacks access to high-end AI chips that power a humanoid robot’s software “brain,” which accounts for roughly 80% of its total value.

And the U.S.‘s big edge is in the most cutting-edge technologies at companies such as Nvidia, and at universities. And although America lacks China’s manufacturing scale, this could help it build better AI robot learning, the article said.

British neuroscientist Nicholas Wright, the article’s author, told Voice of America (VOA) that China’s expertise in electric vehicles and drones provides an edge in humanoid robotics, particularly in battery and sensor technology.

“Electric vehicles are becoming robots on wheels, and China dominates the drone manufacturing industry,” Wright said. “While different types of robots have their own complexities, China excels in producing key components such as batteries and sensors — and in scaling up mass production.”

“They may not have the same capabilities as some Western competitors, but being able to build 10 90%-efficient robots is better than producing just one perfect robot,” he added.

Feasibility in question

Despite the hype, there are ongoing debates over the feasibility of the practical applications of humanoid robots.

Wright cautioned that while widespread adoption “could happen in the near future,” the outcome is uncertain.

“It could end in failure. These robots might not be as capable in real-world applications as we hope,” he said, adding that the timeline for adoption remains unpredictable.

Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University specializing in industrial policy and Chinese infrastructure, said that China’s push for mass production is more symbolic than practical.

“I’m puzzled by the idea that China is already pushing for large-scale production,” Chan said. “If the technology isn’t mature, suddenly releasing thousands of these robots doesn’t make sense. They’re not suited for assembly lines, let alone restaurants. It seems wasteful and possibly misguided.”

A viral video on social media showed a humanoid robot at a Chinese New Year event suddenly “losing control” and rushing toward the audience before being stopped by security.

This could indicate that China’s humanoid robot technology is still far from mature. However, some analysts suggested the robot was simply reacting to an obstacle while trying to maintain balance.

Why are humanoid robots important?

Despite lingering challenges, humanoid robots have the potential to revolutionize industries and daily life. Their development is also seen as a key indicator of a country’s AI capabilities.

Unlike generative AI tools like ChatGPT, humanoid robots operate beyond digital data processing — they physically interact with the real world, making them critical for industrial and service applications.

Wright described humanoid robots as the latest way for AI to “create an impact” in the physical world.

“That impact could be in manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, elderly care, childcare, pet walking, housekeeping, or even in wars,” he said.

More importantly, humanoid robots can seamlessly integrate into human environments and use existing tools, unlocking vast potential for practical applications.

“These robots will be able to function in the various environments we have built for ourselves,” he said.

For example, humanoid robots can use tools such as vacuum cleaners to do housework, and humanoid “nurses” can operate medical devices to care for patients, Wright said.

Chan believes humanoid robots could transform the service industry.

“They have the potential to automate or even take over much of the service sector — an area where robots have yet to make significant inroads,” he said.

AI and robotics: a symbiotic relationship

The advancement of humanoid robots is also a key indicator of a nation’s artificial intelligence capabilities, and their application is expected to drive further AI development.

According to Moravec’s Paradox — a principle widely accepted in AI research — high-level cognitive tasks like reasoning and complex calculations require relatively little computational power, but everyday human actions like recognizing faces, navigating physical spaces or grasping objects need significantly more computational power.

The key to humanoid robots' progress lies in their ability to learn directly from human actions, a “learning plus application” cycle that could accelerate their widespread adoption, Wright said.

“They can learn directly from us and will generate vast amounts of new data, which in turn fuels their learning process, making them more useful,” he said.

“As robots become more capable, they will take on more tasks, leading to more adoption, and generate even more data for learning. This cycle will continue to accelerate, making humanoid robots increasingly practical and common in society,” he added.

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