China’s robotics industry has expanded rapidly, with revenue at industrial enterprises above designated size exceeding 300 billion yuan ($44.24 billion) in 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The sector’s average annual growth rate has exceeded 20% over the past five years, the ministry data showed.

A report by California-based research firm Smart Analytics Global said global humanoid robot shipments reached about 19,100 units in the first half of 2026, with Chinese-made models accounting for more than 97% of the total.

Meanwhile, exports of industrial robots rose 13.2% in the January-July period, while shipments of surgical robots increased 3.3-fold year on year in the first half of 2026.

Robots, AI products and innovative drugs are three new drivers of China’s export growth, Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun said.

The momentum was on display at this year’s World Robot Conference, held in Beijing’s southeastern technology hub.

On weekday mornings, traffic around the exhibition hall came to a standstill for kilometers, prompting organizers to issue daily travel advisories.

Inside the venue, crowds rivaled those seen at major international technology exhibitions, while the number of exhibitors rose to more than 300, up 69% from 2025.

The event features more than 3,000 products, about 300 of them making their debut, with many powered by large AI models, cloud computing and big data.

China’s large manufacturing sector is also providing a major testing ground for embodied AI technologies, which are being deployed at scale in factories and training facilities.

According to an industry research report, China had established more than 70 robot training grounds by June, with another 46 under construction or in the planning stage.

In a related development, Unitree Robotics went public on China’s A-share market on Wednesday, the same day the WRC opened.

Its shares surged 629.44% to open at 1,100 yuan.

“This week's IPO is just the start of the journey,” said Aron Kisdi, managing director of Autodiscovery and Unitree Robotics’ U.K. distributor, at the company’s WRC booth.

“It signals that the time in the lab is nearing an end, and we're pushing robots into the real world,” Kisdi said.

On the exhibition floor, companies demonstrated robots performing tasks in real-world settings.

A logistics robot sorted more than 1,000 parcels per hour, while a pair of dexterous robotic hands folded cardboard into a packaging box.

At UBTECH’s display area, robots carried out automated loading and unloading of automotive sheet metal parts without human oversight, building on earlier trials at several car plants.

Chinese robotics companies have increasingly deployed robots in factories to test their ability to perform more sophisticated tasks beyond basic material handling.

Meanwhile, automakers including Xiaomi showcased their own humanoid robots, underscoring how industrial demand is driving development in the sector.

The Beijing exhibition also featured robots designed for emotional companionship, household work, convenience-store retail and coffee brewing, targeting China’s vast consumer market.

“Robots are no longer only about flashy concepts and specs. They're increasingly focused on tackling real-life challenges,” said Ren Jingwei, a manager at Zhiyuan Research Institute in Hangzhou.

The WRC has also become a venue for industry players across the supply chain to exchange contacts and seek new business partnerships.

One notable change this year was the strong presence of manufacturers of dexterous-hand sensors, joint modules and chips.

Suppliers that once operated largely behind finished robot products are increasingly taking center stage in their own specialized fields, reflecting the development of a more sophisticated robotics ecosystem in China.

Humanoid robots could stimulate investment in precision transmission systems, smart sensors, AI chips and intelligent software, creating a large market spanning research and development through after-sales services, said Xu Xiaolan of the Chinese Institute of Electronics.

Looking ahead, many attendees see the Beijing exhibition as a sign of potentially transformative changes in the industry.

The “ChatGPT moment” for embodied AI could arrive within two to three years under an optimistic scenario, or within five to 10 years at the latest, said Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, at a WRC forum.