China’s economic planning agency warned of the risk of a bubble in the country’s humanoid robotics industry, issuing a rare official expression of concern about the sector that is gaining momentum.
The National Development and Reform Commission, which sets economic strategies and political changes, drew attention on Thursday (27) to the spread of remarkably similar robots from more than 150 companies in the same sector.
The country must prevent this glut from flooding the market and eliminating real research and development initiatives, agency spokeswoman Li Zhao said in Beijing.
The call for vigilance reflects Beijing’s discomfort with excessive investment in a sector that it considers one of the biggest stimulators of the economy. This is reminiscent of past overspending in sectors such as bike-sharing and semiconductors, much of which ended in restructurings that wiped out smaller companies.
Shares of industry leader UBTech Robotics, which could benefit from a merger, rose more than 4% on Friday (28).
“These booming industries face the challenge of balancing the speed of growth with the risk of bubbles – an issue now also facing the human robotics sector,” Li said.
Development and investment in humanoid robots has exploded since Unitree’s dancing robots delighted a national audience during the Spring Festival earlier this year.
The Communist Party has identified the industry as one of six new engines of economic growth in guidelines for formulating China’s development plan for the next five years.
Unitree founder Wang Xingxing sat in the front row during a crucial meeting between technology leaders such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in February.
Since then, robots — made by fast-growing startups like AgiBot and Galbot — have exploded on social media: running marathons, kickboxing, and making coffee.
The tournament has fueled investor interest in the sector, causing China’s Solactive Human Robotics Index – which tracks shares of robotics-related companies – to rise by about 30% this year.
Citigroup expects the market to reach $7 trillion by 2050. However, widespread adoption of humanoid robots in homes or factories is likely years away.
For now, the authorities will continue to accelerate efforts to build market entry and exit mechanisms to create a fair competitive environment, Li said. The spokeswoman added that the government will accelerate research and development in key technologies, and support the construction of training and testing infrastructure.
Li said the government will also promote the standardization and sharing of technology and industrial resources in the sector across the country, in a bid to accelerate the application of humanoid robots in real life.