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The General Administration of Customs reported that China exported a total of 10.377 million robots valued at 19.99 billion yuan, or about $3 billion, in the first five months of 2026. These shipments reached more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. Cleaning robots made up the bulk of the exports by value at 14 billion yuan, or more than 70 per cent of the total, the official statistics showed.
Industrial robot exports stood at around 70,000 units during the period while more than 8,000 intelligent bionic robots were also sent abroad, according to the data. The bionic models are designed for uses including equipment inspection, scientific research, education and public services. Overseas application scenarios for industrial robots continued to expand, the customs figures indicated.
EU member states and ASEAN nations ranked as the leading destinations for the Chinese robots, the General Administration of Customs reported. The data highlighted that China’s robot exports have continued to expand steadily in scale. This growth has been supported by a fully integrated domestic industrial supply chain.
China’s industrial robot exports reached a record $8.03 billion in 2025, equivalent to 11 per cent of the global total, fDi Intelligence analysis of Trade Data Monitor statistics showed. That performance allowed the country to overtake Germany as the second-largest exporter for the first time while trailing only Japan, according to the June 2026 assessment. A third of China’s industrial robot exports by quantity headed to ASEAN in 2025, up from 21 per cent a year earlier, the analysis found.
The International Federation of Robotics reported that China accounted for 54 per cent of all industrial robots installed globally in 2024 with 295,000 units deployed. The country’s operational stock surpassed 2 million units that year, approximately 4.5 times larger than that of Japan in second place. Robot density in China stood at 166 units per 10,000 workers, marking a 17 per cent year-on-year rise, according to the federation’s data drawing on National Bureau of Statistics figures.
Earlier figures for the first quarter of 2026 showed robot exports valued at 11.32 billion yuan across 148 countries and regions, with industrial robot exports climbing 42 per cent from the same period a year earlier, industry reports citing customs data stated. Production of industrial robots within China increased by more than 40 per cent in the first eight months of 2025, according to a Silverado.org industry profile. The sector’s expansion reflects sustained momentum that has seen export values rise almost 60 per cent in that period of 2025.
