China warns of bubble risk in humanoid robot sector

The news: The spokesperson for China’s top economic planner said on Thursday that Chinese humanoid robot companies should prevent the risk of highly repetitive products entering the market, warning that the booming sector is at risk of a bubble.

The context: Speaking at a briefing in Beijing, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokesperson Li Chao said “Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles — an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well.”

Li said that with over 150 companies building humanoid robots (and rising), the country must prevent a surge of “highly similar” products from creating a glut in the market, squeezing out room for research and development.

The NDRC is working with relevant departments to strengthen policy support, accelerate technological breakthroughs and advance the application of research outcomes, Li said. She added that the commission will work to establish industry standards and evaluation systems while improving entry and exit mechanisms for the sector, aiming to foster a fair competition market environment.