- China now has more than 400 complete humanoid robot models, surpassing the rest of the global market.
- The country accounts for nearly 70% of the total global sales of quadruped robots.
- Experts believe China could exceed 100,000 humanoid robots this year.
The Chinese robotics market had a blast in the first half of the year, with sales topping the rest of the world.
Data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday says Chinese quadruped robots accounted for nearly 70% of global sales in H1 2026. China has also now built 400 humanoid robot models, accounting for more than half of the global market.
Most of the supply chain ran through Zhejiang, according to Global Times. The province shipped more than 1 billion yuan ($147 million) worth of robots in the first half. Its intelligent bionic robot exports accounted for about 60% of China’s total exports during the period.
“China has already taken the lead,” says industry expert
China witnessed massive growth across different sectors in the first half of the year, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, new energy, and biomedicine, as reported by Cryptopolitan.
The boom added 67 new unicorns to the Chinese market, the second-best half-year growth in China since 2021, when 76 unicorns were created.
Led by DeepSeek, the growth was mostly concentrated on AI and robotics, which together accounted for more than 53% of the unicorns.
The H1 performance puts a firm floor under China’s claim to lead the robotics sector.
During the World AI Conference in China last week, the chief scientist at the Shanghai-based National and Local Co-Built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, Jiang Lei, asserted, “China has already taken the lead in several core areas of embodied intelligence, particularly manufacturing, datasets, and training environments.”
China on track to produce 100,000 humanoid robots in 2026
In terms of manufacturing, speakers at the conference believe China is on track to produce more than 100,000 humanoid robots this year.
Last year, China made only about 20,000 units. However, it’s already surpassed 40,000 in the first half, according to recent reports.
The output figures align with how Wall Street has been revising its expectations for the year.
Morgan Stanley has raised its forecast for Chinese humanoid shipments twice this year. In June, the bank raised its 2026 forecast to 50,000 units, up from an initial estimate of 14,000 at the start of the year and a spring revision of 28,000.
The Wall Street bank expects China’s humanoid robot market to reach $2 billion in 2026 and up to $15 billion by 2030.
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FAQs
How many humanoid robot models has China developed?
China has developed more than 400 complete humanoid robot models, accounting for over half of the global total, according to Ministry of Industry and Information Technology data released on July 20, 2026.
How many humanoid robots is China expected to produce in 2026?
Speakers at the World AI Conference in Shanghai said Chinese output surpassed 40,000 humanoid units in the first half of 2026 and is expected to exceed 100,000 for the full year, up from about 20,000 in 2025.
How does China compare with the United States in humanoid robots?
China accounted for more than 80 percent of the over 16,000 humanoid robots deployed worldwide in 2025, and AgiBot chief technology officer Peng Zhihui said only China and the U.S. currently have the mix of AI models, hardware and large-scale manufacturing to compete in embodied AI.
Ibiam Wayas
Ibiam Wayas has covered the crypto news beat since 2019. He studied Computer Science at National Open University of Nigeria. His work has appeared on various crypto news platforms, including Coinfomania, Crypto News Australia, and AltcoinBuzz. Drawing on his background in Computer Science, he now focuses on crypto, robotics, and longevity news.
