Anyone following humanoid robot news over the past two years will have seen Chinese names appear more and more often: AgiBot, Unitree, UBTech, Xpeng. That is no coincidence. In the production and delivery of humanoid robots, China has a clear lead. This article looks at the numbers, the causes and the caveats.
The numbers: who ships what?
Research firm Omdia estimated that around 13,000 humanoid robots were shipped worldwide in 2025. The three largest suppliers were Chinese: AgiBot with 5,168 units (39 percent), Unitree with an estimated 4,200 and UBTech with about 1,000, TechNode reports. Unitree later said it had shipped more than 5,500 humanoids in 2025, more than Omdia had estimated. According to Euronews, about 87 percent of all humanoids delivered in 2025 came from China.
In 2026 the balance appears even more one-sided. Smart Analytics Global counted around 19,100 humanoids delivered in the first half of 2026, 97 percent of them made in China, Euronews writes, citing a Fraunhofer IPA study.
One caveat: these are unit counts, not value or capability. A large share of Chinese shipments consists of smaller, relatively affordable robots for research, education, demonstration and entertainment. US companies such as Figure, Agility, Boston Dynamics and Tesla ship smaller numbers, but focus on industrial tasks and invest heavily in AI.
Cause 1: humanoids are national policy
China has explicitly made humanoid robots a strategic priority. In November 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published guidelines on the innovation and development of humanoid robots. They set goals for 2025 (breakthroughs in core technology) and 2027 (a secure, reliable supply chain and broad application in the economy), as The Register reported at the time.
The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) goes further. According to the IFR, it puts robotics and embodied AI, meaning AI in physical systems, at the centre of China's industrial policy. The IFR expects commercialisation of humanoids only towards the end of that plan period. Local governments, such as Shanghai and Beijing, have their own action plans and support schemes.
The IFR summarises it in its position paper: in China, humanoids sit at the centre of national strategy, with an emphasis on a scalable supply chain for core components.
Cause 2: a complete supply chain
A humanoid robot consists largely of motors, reducers, bearings, sensors, batteries and electronics. China is strong in exactly those components. Electric vehicles, drones and consumer electronics have created a huge industrial base with many suppliers close together, especially around Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou.
That directly affects price. Chinese harmonic reducers are estimated to be 30 to 50 percent cheaper than those of Japanese and Western incumbents, according to Interesting Engineering. Unitree lists the G1 from US$13,500, and its smaller R1 costs 29,900 yuan in China, the South China Morning Post reported.
Cause 3: scale in industrial robotics
China has installed the most industrial robots in the world for years. According to the IFR's latest World Robotics figures, the country accounts for 54 percent of annual installations worldwide, and around two million industrial robots operate in Chinese factories. Chinese suppliers' share of their home market rose from 30 percent in 2020 to 57 percent in 2024. That experience in production, integration and service is a strong foundation for the next step.
Cause 4: fast iteration and public testing
Chinese manufacturers release new versions quickly and test in public: a humanoid half-marathon in Beijing, performances during the Lunar New Year television broadcast. The IFR mentions those demonstrations, but also points out that real production use in factories remains limited to demonstrators and pilots for now. Visibility is not the same as maturity.
What does this mean for Europe?
In this market, China and Europe are complementary as much as they are competitors. Three developments stand out:
- Chinese manufacturers are coming to Europe. China Daily writes that Unitree treats Europe as a core market; a German distributor says he sells more than he can get delivered. AgiBot is working with Minth Group for Germany, Yicai reports. UBTech sold its Walker S2 to Airbus, according to China Daily / Invest in China.
- Europe is looking for its own role. The Fraunhofer IPA and P3 study sees the biggest opportunity for European companies in components such as gearboxes, motors, sensors and hands. Schaeffler, Bosch and Schunk are already working on this.
- European rules apply to everyone. A robot from China has to meet the same EU requirements as a European one: CE marking, product safety, cybersecurity, privacy and, in time, the AI Act. Our insights cover regulation in detail.
According to the same study, some Chinese components still have a shorter service life than European ones. That underlines why selection, testing and service in Europe remain important.
Today, in development, later
- Today: China supplies most humanoids worldwide, mainly for research, education, demonstration and first industrial pilots.
- In development: larger industrial roll-outs (UBTech, AgiBot, Xpeng) and expansion into Europe through distributors and partners.
- Later: whether China's lead in scale also produces the best robots for European applications depends on quality, safety, certification and service.
In closing
China leads through a combination of policy, a complete supply chain and industrial scale. For European businesses and consumers, that opens the door to more affordable robots, provided they are carefully selected and meet European rules. Our China to Europe page explains how ZETTA looks at that bridge. Are you a supplier or potential partner? Please get in touch.
Sources
- https://technode.com/2026/01/09/chinas-agibot-leads-global-humanoid-robot-shipments-in-2025-omdia-says/
- https://en.jiemian.com/article/13924474.html
- https://euronews.com/2026/03/05/is-europe-losing-the-robotics-race-to-china-and-does-it-matter
- https://euronews.com/2026/10/01/humanoid-robots-china-builds-them-but-germany-could-supply-the-joints-and-hands
- https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/07/beijing_prepares_for_imminent_rise/
- https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/china-makes-ai-powered-robots-core-of-national-strategy
- https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/humanoid-robots-vision-and-reality-paper-published-by-ifr
- https://interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/china-humanoid-robots-actuators
- https://www.unitree.com/g1
- https://scmp.com/tech/article/3349489/chinas-unitree-debut-cheapest-humanoid-robot-globally-alibaba-site-sources
- https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202606/26/WS6a3de9d1a310986e2b462108.html
- https://www2.yicaiglobal.com/news/global-humanoid-robot-leader-agibot-taps-minth-group-to-drive-european-rollout
- https://investinchina.chinaservicesinfo.com/s/202601/26/WS6977061e498e36855033a2b6/chinas-ubtech-expands-overseas-reach-with-airbus-robot-deal.html
This article is based on public sources and reflects the situation on the date of publication. It is not advice on any specific purchase.