Hundreds of Chinese robotics companies are showing off new machines in Beijing as they search for customers, investors and a way to bring humanoid robots into everyday business.
China’s robotics industry is gathering in Beijing this week with a clear goal: prove that humanoid robots are ready to move beyond impressive demonstrations and become useful commercial machines.
More than 300 companies are taking part in the 2026 World Robot Conference, displaying more than 2,000 exhibits and launching over 150 new products, according to Beijing authorities.
Zhang Dapeng, an executive at a company called Leju, stood next to his machines as they moved crates around a booth. He told reporters that his robots are already working in auto plants.
“They are using our robots to work in their factories, whether it’s moving boxes, loading small components, or performing other tasks,” he said. He claims they work just as fast as a human.
Over at another booth, a sales rep for Robotera pointed to a parcel-sorting machine on wheels. He admitted it is only 85% as effective as a real person.
The money flowing into this space is wild. Shares of a robot company called Unitree jumped nearly six times their starting price on their first day of trading. The government is pushing it hard, too, calling robotics an “important force” for the country’s future.
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It feels exactly like the electric car boom a few years ago. Everyone is rushing in.
Zhang Guibing, who runs a robotics division for carmaker Chery, sees the chaos as a good thing.
“A large number of companies appeared almost overnight,” he said. “It allows everyone to compete fully. In the end, this will help deepen the industry’s technology.”
But the reality is messy. An analyst named Georg Stieler pointed out a harsh truth. He estimates that up to 70% of the humanoid robots built this year won’t do real work. They will just sit in “data factories,” running the same movements over and over to train software.
The trade show ends on Sunday. The real question is whether these metal workers will actually end up on a shipping dock, or if they are just expensive toys built to impress investors.
