Embodied AI: China's ambitious path to transform its robotics industry
China is advancing rapidly in humanoid robotics and embodied artificial intelligence, leveraging its strong industrial base, electric vehicle supply chains, and state-backed policies to drive innovation and automation. Despite progress, Chinese robots still lack full autonomy and face cost barriers to widespread deployment, remaining dependent on foreign high-end components like Nvidia's AI chips. The government views embodied AI as a strategic tool to address labor shortages and boost economic and military capabilities, a push that could challenge global competitors, including European firms.
- ▪China has the world’s largest installed base of industrial robots and is now expanding into humanoid robotics with strong state support.
- ▪Chinese robotics development benefits from existing EV supply chains that provide access to batteries, sensors, and other key components.
- ▪China’s humanoid robots are currently less autonomous, lack precision and dexterity, and are mostly used in limited, site-specific trials.
- ▪The Chinese government has prioritized embodied AI in national plans, including the 15th Five-Year Plan and the 2025 government work report.
- ▪European companies risk being outpaced by China’s robotics sector due to its combination of industrial capacity and state-driven funding and policy support.
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Subscribe to the newsletter picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS | Ng Han Guan Content Key Findings Embodied Intelligence: a test case for Beijing’s techno-solutionism Towards intelligent industrial robotics: China leverages its large market and supply chains Kickboxing robots look good but are far from being truly autonomous China’s journey to embodiment carries risks – also for Europe Endnotes Download (pdf - 927.44 KB) Share this Article Report Apr 30, 2026 29 min read Embodied AI: China’s ambitious path to transform its robotics industry Key Findings With the world’s largest installed base of industrial robots, China is now actively exploring humanoid robotics. The sector is dependent on Nvidia’s AI chips and software ecosystem, but rapidly localizing its hardware supply chain.
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