China's All-Around 'Robot Rise' from Humanoids to Drones [What is the Reality of China's Technology?]⑤

China has chosen the robotics industry as the ultimate trump card in its 'Made in China 2025' strategy to secure competitiveness in advanced manufacturing, and is undertaking comprehensive development efforts. It is gaining concrete achievements ranging from localization of core robot components to diversification of application fields, emerging as a new powerhouse in the global technology market.

China's Humanoid Robots Begin Leading the Global Market

China designated the robotics industry as one of the ten key development sectors in its 'Made in China 2025' plan. Since then, through the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans, it has steadily strengthened research and development (R&D) and localization of core robot components. In particular, the Chinese government continues to invest heavily to increase technological self-reliance in key robot components such as reducers, servomotors, controllers, and sensors.

Recently, to foster the next-generation advanced robotics industry, especially humanoid robots, cooperation between the central and local governments has become more concrete, accelerating the robotics drive. China's goal in the humanoid robot field is clear: to secure world-class technology and integrate robots into various industrial sectors to create new growth engines for the real economy. To this end, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China announced the 'Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots' last year, emphasizing the expansion of robot application areas by 2027.

China's leading robotics company, UBTECH, is developing robots that can compete with Tesla's humanoid robot 'Optimus' and has already entered the actual trial operation phase in automobile factories within China, attracting attention. Major local governments such as Shanghai and Beijing have established robotics innovation platforms and the Beijing Humanoid Innovation Center, respectively, to support technological cooperation between startups and companies.

Due to these aggressive support measures, the humanoid robot market size in China is expected to grow sharply from approximately 2.76 billion yuan (about 560 billion KRW) in 2024 to 75 billion yuan (about 15 trillion KRW) by 2029.

Professor Han Jaegwon of Hanyang University ERICA's Department of Robotics (Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of A-Robot) stated, "China's competitiveness in humanoid robot technology has recently increased rapidly, now closely trailing the United States. Currently, the U.S. holds an overwhelmingly dominant position in humanoid robot technology, but China has also completed an overall industrial ecosystem from component manufacturing to market formation."

The most notable achievements of China's robotics industry appear in the industrial robot sector. Chinese robot manufacturer SIASUN has expanded its presence in the global robot market by actively introducing industrial robots developed with its own technology into automobile and electronics manufacturing sites. Leading manufacturers such as Foxconn and Geely have also achieved significant results in quality control and production efficiency through industrial robot automation.

According to the 2024 report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), China already ranks first worldwide in both new installations of industrial robots (about 276,000 units) and cumulative operational robots (over 1.75 million units). The market share of Chinese-made robots domestically surged from 27.3% in 2018 to 47.2% in 2023. Robot density in manufacturing sites rose to 470 units per 10,000 employees in 2023, ranking third globally.

Analysts attribute the technological leap of China's robotics industry largely to the government's localization policies. Until recently, China heavily depended on imports for key components such as high-performance reducers and servomotors. However, with strengthened technological development and production support for component localization by the Chinese government, the technological capabilities of Chinese companies have greatly improved.

For example, Chinese company Leaderdrive successfully localized reducers, which were previously entirely imported from Japan or Europe, significantly reducing costs for Chinese robot companies. A reducer is a mechanical device that reduces motor rotation speed and amplifies torque, a core component of robots. The reducers produced by this company are supplied at about 70% of the price of Japanese products, greatly contributing to the price competitiveness of Chinese robot companies.

China Dominates the Drone Market with About 70% Global Share

China's technological drive is also evident in the drone market. Leading company DJI controls about 70% of the global civilian drone market, demonstrating top-tier technological capabilities. After securing the market with competitive pricing, DJI is currently expanding its business into various fields such as aerial photography, agriculture, and industrial inspection.

Regional specialization in the drone industry is also noteworthy. Shenzhen in Guangdong Province specializes in personal drones, while Chengdu in Sichuan Province focuses on industrial drones, forming industrial clusters that enhance competitiveness. Recently, they developed the 'CH-YH1000,' a large logistics drone capable of carrying up to 1 ton of cargo, leading logistics innovation in hard-to-access areas. This drone features automated flight functions and is expected to be widely used in logistics and emergency rescue activities in the future.

China is also prominent in military drones. It has developed excellent military drones such as 'Lijian,' 'Yilong,' and 'WJ-600,' producing drones for reconnaissance, special purposes, and electronic warfare. This strengthens China's defense capabilities and enhances its competitiveness in the international arms market.

As China's robotics and drone industries grow comprehensively, global competitors including South Korea face challenges in technological competition. The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) analyzed in its report 'Trends of China's Industrial Robot Industry and Our Response Strategy' that the technology gap between South Korea and China has narrowed to just 0.3 years, and China's technology is likely to surpass South Korea in the future.

Experts advise South Korea to strengthen competitiveness in core robot components, establish on-site demonstration platforms, and strategically approach markets with products having comparative advantages such as collaborative robots. They emphasize securing sustainable competitiveness in China's robot and drone markets through localized product development and building cooperative platforms within China's robotics industry clusters.

The KIET report stated, "The rise of China's robotics industry is no longer a distant future but an industrial crisis approaching reality. Only proactive responses through establishing on-site demonstration platforms, technological alliances with local companies, and cooperation in distribution networks can guarantee the survival and growth of South Korea's robotics industry amid the technological upheaval originating from China."

Professor Han also pointed out, "Before 2015, South Korea was globally recognized for its technology by winning the DARPA Robotics Challenge (under the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), but subsequently missed industrialization opportunities due to reduced government support and corporate investment. In contrast, China and the U.S. have continuously promoted commercialization and are now clearly seeing the results." He added, "Although somewhat late, since the government and companies have renewed interest and started active investment and planning, if we mobilize all our capabilities, there is a possibility to rise again."