Walker S1 Industrial Humanoid Robot of Walkech, Ubtech, is operating on December 11, 2024 at the Foxconn’s Longhua facility in Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, South China. Photo: Provided by Ubtech
In 2025, the fusion of technology and traditional culture took to center stage at the state broadcaster CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala. It was a Group 16 humanoid robot named “Fuxi” developed by Chinese startup Unitree Robotics, who wore a folklore jacket and performed the traditional “Yangge” dance. Very agile handkerchief movement and precise formation.
From laboratory to factories, stages to production lines, Chinese-made humanoid robots will infiltrate many sectors, including manufacturing and services, leading the advantage of Global Race for Technology.
The show sparked an open debate on China’s advances in human humanoid robotics.
During the performance phase, Unitree’s “Fuxi” robot, also known as the Unitree H1, uses AI-driven full-body motion control technology that can achieve maximum joint torque of 360 Newton-Meters. Coupled with 360° panoramic depth perception technology, you can accurately grasp all your surroundings.
Expanding usage scenarios
Today, many Chinese companies are accelerating the testing of humanoid robots in a variety of industries. Manufacturing giant Foxconn and Shenzhen-based humanoid robot company Ubtech announced on January 15, 2025 that the companies will form a partnership to incorporate UBTECH’s humanoid robots into Foxconn’s intelligent manufacturing process.
Before partnering with Foxconn, Ubtech’s humanoid robots were already deployed by automakers such as BYD, Geely and Faw-Volkswagen’s Qingdao plant, Ubtech told Global Times.
The trend of “getting employment” for many domestic humanoid robots in the manufacturing sector is increasingly recognized as an inevitable industrial evolution, Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, told Global Times . For example, Unitree’s humanoid robots have been deployed in plants owned by the leading Chinese electric car manufacturer NIO.
“We’re taking a market-driven approach. Once technology gains traction and demonstrates strong commercial potential, we’ll expand our robot production,” Wang says.
Wei Jiaxing, head of marketing at Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, told Global Times on Saturday that he performed very repetitive tasks in the manufacturing or senior care sector, monitoring key signs of life and important He said that he will not only provide dating, but also provide service. In dangerous tasks of patrol and special operations, humanoid robots are highly likely to be applied.
“Smart robots are already in real time and we expect to see a wider usage scenario at the end of 2025,” Wei told Global Times.
In November 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry, Information and Technology (MIIT) issued guidelines by 2025 targeting innovative developments in humanoid robotics. The production of robots, such as the brain, cerebellum, limbs, etc., will reach internationally advanced levels by then.
On January 17, 2025, Shenzhen-based Leju Robotics delivered its 100th full-size humanoid robot to Beijing-based Carmaker Baic Group, telling the key steps towards mass production, the company recently said He spoke to the Global Times in an interview.
Production capacity
Behind Leju’s steady delivery is the company’s upgraded production capacity. In December 2024, Leju launched a humanoid robot manufacturing line in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, with an estimated annual capacity of 200 humanoid robots, Shanghai Securities news reported.
On January 6, 2025, Shanghai’s humanoid robot maker Agibot announced that its 1,000-person mass-produced general-purpose robot has officially emerged from the assembly line. According to a video posted on social media late last year, Agibot set a production target for the 962 robots in 2024.
According to a report by Goldman Sachs, if more technical breakthroughs occur, humanoid robots will have a combined annual growth rate of 94% between 2025 and 2035, with the sector being 94% by 2035. It reached $154 billion.
In April 2024, China’s first Humanoid Robot Industry Conference was held in Beijing. An industrial report released during the conference states that China’s humanoid robot market ranges from 2.76 billion yuan ($3.77.56 million) in 2024, and is likely to reach 75 billion yuan by 2029. was shown. Xinhua News Agency’s news agency is expected to reach 300 billion yuan by 2035.
To meet the burgeoning demand for humanoid robot research and development and increase the mass production of smart robots, Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre open source “Tiangon” humanoid robots have been further technologically verified and developed by research institutions and companies. It is now available to implement. There is a market need.
Additionally, the Beijing Innovation Center has launched Robomind, a multi-layered intelligence norm data designed to meet the efficient and targeted training needs of robot intelligence embodied in complex scenarios.
Pan Helin, a member of the MIIT-based Information and Communications Economics Committee, noted that if users are widely aware of their capabilities, mass production of intelligent robots will begin.
Pan said that the country’s advancement in robotics will be constantly strengthened, based on China’s advantages in manufacturing across almost all industrial sectors.
