Industry Findings: China AI robotics strategy increasingly targets embodied AI, dexterous manipulation, and humanoid systems to address demographic and productivity pressures. Our assessment points to state-led incentives and advanced test zones compressing commercialisation cycles and increasing domestic sourcing. A visible structural signal emerged when national coverage highlighted Beijing’s humanoid robotics prioritisation in May-2025, backed by subsidies, procurement incentives, and multi-environment task-training infrastructure. These measures reduce risk for vendors, accelerate model-training pipelines, and push enterprises to favour platforms with proven localisation, parts availability, and simulation-to-reality performance across manufacturing clusters.
Industry Player Insights: Among the broad mix of companies in China, the competitive footprint is influenced by UBTech, Pudu Robotics, Fourier Intelligence, and Unitree Robotics etc. UBTech moved toward commercial-scale output by signalling mass-production readiness for its Walker humanoid line in Jan-2025, aligning with rising industrial-use testbeds. Pudu Robotics broadened its indoor-mobility and smart-building portfolio with the PUDU T300 launch in Apr-2024 and followed with upgraded FlashBot units in Oct-2024, strengthening service and light-industrial logistics capabilities. Fourier Intelligence progressed humanoid and rehabilitation robotics deployments in 2024, enhancing China’s AI-driven embodied-robotics position. These developments elevate China’s competitive landscape by consolidating hardware scale, AI stack integration, and certification pathways.