A fresh Chinese $138 billion state venture fund has tagged “embodied” AI as a key priority. Humanoid robot firms are springing up like mushrooms across China, buoyed by subsidies, easy regulations and factory access that gives bots a real-world playground. Western outfits can only dream of.

Deep Robotics sales director Cheng Yuhang said: “We are combining [robot development] with actual applications... This is something the U.S. can’t match.”

While UBTech’s Walker S bot still costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s already being rolled out in auto parts logistics, and plans are in place to invest thousands more over the next two years. If history repeats itself, China could drive down costs as it did with EVs — which now account for about 70 per cent of global production.

Even the banks smell a repeat. Bank of America analyst Ming Hsun Lee believes humanoids could follow a similar EV template, with costs expected to plummet as Chinese factories ramp up production.

Meanwhile, US efforts are lagging. Amazon’s Agility Robotics has had bots shuffling around warehouses since 2023. Startups like Figure are giving it a try. However, industry watchers acknowledge that the Yanks still rely on semiconductors, software, and precision components — not exactly the gritty, real-world grunt work where China excels.

Some US lawmakers are now clamouring for bans on Chinese humanoids entering the country and further choking access to American tech, playing the national security card. But while the suits squabble in Washington, China’s robots are already clocking in and there is a danger that they could cause problems for US companies which are already finding it hard to compete.