Symbolic imageChina ships 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots
Chinese vendors shipped more than 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, a US firm reported on Monday. China also took more than 85 percent of global demand.
Deliveries reached 19,100 units, up from 5,100 a year earlier, Smart Analytics Global found. Agibot holds 44 percent of the global market and Unitree 31 percent. SAG expects 60,000 units this year and 500,000 a year by 2030, worth about $3 billion. Industry and commerce took 70 percent of the machines, up from 50 percent, though SAG calls the technology immature.
Unitree IPO swamped
Global Times reported that Unitree Robotics' Shanghai listing, China's first humanoid robot IPO, was oversubscribed 8,288 times, with the online winning rate at 0.0181 percent. Subscriptions opened on Monday, 10 August.
US import ban
The US has banned imports of new Chinese robots and power inverters. The South China Morning Post notes that the order exempts the federal government, and argues that duties on Chinese solar panels since 2012 did not stop China taking over 80 percent of panel manufacturing.
Funding for embodied AI
Global Times also reported 500 million yuan in funding for a Chinese developer of consumer-oriented embodied AI models.
Other opinions
Global Times casts the shipment lead and IPO rush as national success, while the South China Morning Post reads the same figures as a failure of US protection and puts China's market share at about 85 percent.