China's Humanoid Robots Shift From Demos to Commercial Use

Chinese robot makers showcased humanoids sorting parcels, packing phones and doing household chores at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Wednesday signaling a shift from flashy demonstrations toward real commercial use.

More than 300 companies mostly Chinese are attending the event which runs through Sunday showing over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 new products.

The conference comes amid growing investor interest in humanoid robots, seen as a new engine of industrial growth for China and a key front in tech competition with the United States. Shares of Unitree, China's leading humanoid robot maker jumped nearly sixfold on their Shanghai trading debut after its IPO was oversubscribed more than 8,000 times. Startup Lumos Robotics and Chery Automobile's robotics unit said they too, were considering stock listings.

Nvidia executive Madison Huang, daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, made a surprise visit also watching robots perform kicks and dance routines. Despite U.S. export restrictions on advanced AI chips, her visit underscored foreign suppliers' continued role in China's robotics push.

A vice minister of industry called robotics "an important force" in China's economic development. Companies highlighted growing real-world use Leju's robots sort crates in logistics and auto plants Robotera has over 100 parcel-sorting robots deployed across 15 China Post warehouses and DexForce's robots pack phones with millimetre-level precision at a factory supplying Apple and Huawei components.

Lumos Robotics is automating assembly lines while X Square Robot is testing household-chore robots in hundreds of homes ahead of wider commercial rollout next year. Industry officials say China's fast six-to-eight-month product cycles are accelerating global competition in humanoid robotics.