China warns of bubble risk in booming humanoid robotics industry

China’s top economic-planning agency has warned over the risk of a bubble forming in humanoid robotics, in a rare official expression of concern about the booming sector. 

“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 Chao, spokeswoman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a briefing in Beijing on Thursday. 

More than 150 makers of humanoid robots are operating in China and their number is still rising, Li said. The country must prevent a flood of “highly similar” models from overwhelming the market and squeezing out space for research and development, she said.

The call for vigilance reflects Beijing’s unease over excess investment flooding into a sector it bills as one of the biggest catalysts for the economy in the years ahead. 

Humanoid robotics is one of the six industries named by the ruling Communist Party as new economic growth drivers for the future in its guidelines for drafting China’s development plan in the five years though 2030. 

Citigroup Inc. expects to see “exponential” growth in production next year from China’s humanoid robot makers. But although companies like UBTech report receiving orders worth over a billions yuan, widespread adoption of humanoid robots by households or factories has yet to materialize. 

The spotlight of attention has fueled investor interest in the sector, sending the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index — which tracks the shares of Chinese humanoid robotics-related companies — up by about 26% this year. 

The authorities will speed up efforts to build mechanisms for market entry and exit to create an environment of fair competition, Li said at the briefing. Among the areas of their focus will be accelerating research and development of core technologies and supporting the construction of training and testing infrastructure, she added. 

The government will also promote the consolidation and sharing of technology and industrial resources in the sector across the nation, in an attempt to expedite the application of humanoid robots in real life, she said.