BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- In a brightly lit lab in Beijing's Zhongguancun, which is known as China's Silicon Valley, a humanoid robot stands amid rows of shelves stocked with a variety of goods, its sleek, metallic frame moving with smooth precision as it navigates the aisles.

Bending slightly at the knees, the robot reaches for a bag of crisps from a mid-level shelf with its dexterous, multi-jointed hands, its grippers adjusting their pressure to avoid crushing the package. The robot then places the item into a cart before heading toward the next section.

Developed by Beijing Galbot Co., Ltd., the robot made a splash with its flexibility at the recently concluded 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference. It is evidence of the strides China has made in its humanoid robotics sector thanks to the joint efforts of the government, industry and academia.

POLICY SUPPORT

The Chinese government has shown its commitment to supporting the robotics industry through multiple initiatives and a range of local government incentives.

According to a set of guidelines released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the country plans to launch various robotics innovation programs and encourages investment in the development of software and key components for humanoid robotics. It is also working to promote cooperation between humanoid robotics companies and universities and research institutes.

In Shenzhen, a dedicated "robotics valley" clusters dozens of top universities, research institutes and tech firms, creating a hub where ideas flow freely from labs to factories.

According to the Chinese Institute of Electronics, the nation's humanoid robot market is projected to reach 870 billion yuan (about 121.9 billion U.S. dollars) by 2030.

ENTREPRENEURIAL DRIVE

The industry's potential to reshape various sectors ranging from manufacturing to health care services, coupled with government support, has incentivized many market players to turn tech visions into daily realities.

Wang He, a graduate of Tsinghua University and Stanford University, founded Galbot in May 2023, seeking to develop generalized, embodied, multimodal large-model AI robots. The company unveiled its first-generation robot, Galbot (G1), within just one year of its establishment. The robot features wheels, dual arms and a foldable body. It can reach upward to 2.4 meters and bend down to reach objects on the ground.

At present, the robots are attracting orders and are scheduled for nationwide promotion by the end of the year. They are already on duty around the clock in nearly 10 pharmacies in Beijing, handling over 5,000 types of medicine every day.

Industrial data shows that by the end of 2024, there were over 80 humanoid robot manufacturing companies in China. In the first half of this year alone, China added more humanoid robot companies than it did over the entirety of 2024, with even more startups waiting to enter the market.

FOSTERING SYNERGY

As global competition in humanoid robotics intensifies, China is leveraging its distinct ecosystem of top-tier universities, tech enterprises and government support to bridge the gap between lab breakthroughs and commercial viability.

"Galbot currently has R&D centers in Beijing, Shenzhen and Suzhou, deeply integrating resources from industry, academia and research," said Zhu Hui, product director of the startup, adding that the company has worked with Peking University and the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence to establish a joint embodied intelligence lab to address technological bottlenecks in the industry.

From Zhu's perspective, the humanoid robot industry still has to step up efforts to improve the intelligence of robots and enhance their capabilities to complete complicated tasks and adapt to unstructured environments. Additionally, the high cost of production also restricts the widespread adoption of robots in daily life.

Despite the challenges, the outlook of China's humanoid robot industry is promising, Zhu said, noting that with continuous technological innovation, cost reductions and the expansion of application scenarios, humanoid robots are expected to become an integral part of daily life and industrial production.