During the ongoing 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC), Beijing's Yizhuang area announced it is launching a social experiment program targeting embodied intelligence, the latest move in line with China's steadfast development of robots to further foster new quality productive forces and promote robotics industry from technological research and development to large-scale social application. 

Yizhuang, an area of southeast Beijing known as the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, hosts the permanent site of the World Robot Conference and has successfully hosted robot competitions including the world's first robot half-marathon and robot football leagues. "Dubbed the nation's high ground for robotics industry," the area has established a comprehensive industrial system consisting of robotics components, humanoid, industrial, special operation, medical, collaborative, and logistics robots. 

Yizhuang is to open nearly 1,000 real-world data collection points in places like malls, hotels, hospitals and warehouses to build a leading petabyte-scale data pool for embodied intelligence. The project offers high-value, standardized and tradable data to support AI model training across industries. The first 20 training sites and about 100 data points will open within August, said an official from Yizhuang over the weekend at a side event of the 2025 WRC. 

Along with the launch of the embodied intelligence social experiment program, Yizhuang unveiled a 10-point action plan on supporting innovative development of embodied intelligent robots. The action plan vows to further leverage the current edge Yizhuang has as a national leading robot hub to build a local industry cluster into a global technology highland. 

It is also exploring ways to trade and share data to promote open source data of embodied intelligence. Each year, the program will provide 100 million yuan ($13.92 million) in training data subsidies and 30 million yuan in subsidies for research teams covering robot purchases, rentals and computing power. Additionally, one-time direct financial support of up to 5 million yuan is available for robot R&D projects in Yizhuang, according to a WeChat account affiliated with Yizhuang. 

Global perspective

In 2024, China's share of the global industrial robot export market rose to second place, with total exports of industrial robots reaching $1.13 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 43.22 precent, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. 

To better serve domestic robot firms' international business, a global robotics expansion cooperation network was launched at a side event during the 2025 WRC. Held by Steinbeis Sustainable Technology and Management Beijing Co and Beijing Yizhuang Robot Technology Industry Development Co, the event aims to establish a platform for international cooperation and promote Chinese robot firms' overseas business.

Mohammad Farzanehpour, CEO of European Robotitan Company, told the Global Times at the side event that China's robotics industry is growing rapidly and is expected to become a global leader, similar to its electric vehicle and battery sectors. Through collaboration, there is hope to jointly promote the international development of the robotics industry, he said. 

Farzanehpour's company is an international dealer for robotics products. He signed an agreement to co-build the global robotics expansion cooperation network at the side event, emphasizing that robots have long sales cycles and complex, demonstration-heavy sales processes, making remote support difficult, so collaboration is key to overcoming challenges.

Dr Li Tak Ho Alex, vice president of The Hong Kong Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, said that the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region welcomes long-term and sustainable science and technology projects from the Chinese mainland with sufficient financial support, and is ready to play the role as "super connector" to promote robot companies from the Chinese mainland to global markets. 

Poised for growth

Li Yichao, who is in charge of the globalization work for Beijing-based Booster Robotics, told the Global Times that since its inception, the company has conducted an international development strategy, with more than half of its revenue coming from overseas markets. Its business model centers on whole-unit sales, with an open interface for its robot platforms that allows clients to conduct research and secondary development.

Chinese robot manufacturer UBTECH's intelligent service robot and solution has entered over 50 global countries and regions and served more than 900 enterprise clients by the end of 2023, Jiao Jichao, vice president of UBTECH, told the Global Times. 

UBTECH's products and services cover various scenarios, including artificial intelligence (AI) education projects in the US, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, sanitation projects in Japan, Kenya and Rwanda, and tire manufacturing in Thailand, according to Jiao. 

Ke Zhendong, vice president of Leju Robotics, said the company has a large number of overseas clients, particularly in the industrial sector. Due to relatively high labor costs in overseas markets, decision-making and demand for automation products is clearer, leading to strong purchasing intent for robots from foreign clients, Ke told the Global Times, noting that China-made robots have significant competitiveness in the European, Middle Eastern and North American markets due to their affordability and reliability. 

In 2024, China accounted for two-thirds of global robot patent applications. In terms of industry development, China is the world's largest robot producer, with industrial robot output rising from 33,000 units in 2015 to 556,000 units in 2024. The production of service robots reached 10.519 million units, a year-on-year increase of 34.3 percent, according to official data. 

Analysts believe that China's strong industrial foundation and vast consumer market will provide the basis and support for the robotics industry to expand from the domestic to the international market.

Alexander Verl, a professor at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, affirmed that Chinese robot companies powerful manufacturing capabilities and their ability to quickly capture and respond to market trends. Speaking of collaboration potential between Chinese and German robot companies, Verl said German companies' excellence in designing and manufacturing complex systems will generate a mutual benefit result.