China's service robots rollout gains pace, propelled by government policy support

At Beijing's Zhongguancun ART PARK plaza, a convenience store called the Galaxy Space Capsule run by Chinese tech company Galbot has drawn crowds. Customers order on a tablet, and humanoid robots fetch drinks or coffee from shelves and deliver them. "The robots can talk, and can also serve coffee and soft drinks—it's really convenient," a visitor told Global Times.

A representative of Galbot said that the venue is the world's first convenience store, fully operated by humanoids. The company is in talks with commercial landmarks such as Qianmen, Wangfujing in Beijing and West Lake in Hangzhou. "In the future, we hope to bring robot convenience stores to more landmark areas," he said.

Similar trials are expanding. At Beijing's Robot Restaurant in Yizhuang, humanoid greeters converse in multiple languages and performance robots recite poetry and jokes, making dining more immersive. "We want customers not just to dine but also interact with robots," the company told Global Times.

Meanwhile, Keenon Robotics is advancing post-based and modular designs that allow robots to adapt to different service roles. On Wednesday, Keenon Robotics unveiled KEENON Operator Model 2.0, its upgraded self-developed VLA model for the service industry. The company told Global Times the model will be applied to its humanoid embodied service robots, boosting generalization, raising post-based services to a new and high level.

Data show the service robot industry has entered a fast-growth phase, with its market size projected to reach $40 billion in 2025. Over the next decade, it is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 17.1 percent, hitting $195 billion by 2035.

China has become the world's largest service robot market now. International Data Corporation (IDC) data show Chinese vendors accounted for nearly 85 percent of global commercial service robot shipments in 2024.

Unique advantages

One reason behind the boom in China's service robots is the country's complete industrial chain and large-scale application. From core components to assembly and testing, every link has achieved specialized, mass production, industry insiders said.

Galbot said the robot store is not just a tech showcase but a step toward commercialization. "We aim to reduce costs and improve service quality through large-scale operation," the company stated.

Experts say scale brings data advantage, and each deployment generates real-world data for model training and performance optimization. Chinese firms can iterate quickly and shore up product reliability.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences told Global Times that local companies can adapt quickly to market needs by combining hardware, service and data in a rapid cycle.

Wang added that national policies are easing bottlenecks in key parts, while local governments provide venues, funding and other support. "This synergy gives Chinese firms a clear head start in scaling humanoid robots and exploring new business models," he said.

At the national level, policies such as the Robot Industry Development Plan (2016-2020) and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Robot Industry Development have set clear goals and priorities for the service robot sector, guiding innovation and market expansion.

Local governments have followed suit by establishing industrial parks, offering subsidies and tax incentives to attract firms and foster industry clusters. Parks in Shanghai and Shenzhen, for example, have brought together robot makers, research institutes and suppliers, creating a healthy ecosystem that drives rapid growth.

Popular overseas

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China produced about 1.216 million service robots in May, up 13.8 percent year-on-year. In the first half of 2025, service robots production rose by 25.5 percent from a year earlier, official data showed.

Chinese manufacturers are actively expanding into developed markets with service robots capable of tasks such as meal delivery and logistics. Leading players like Shanghai-based Keenon Robotics have tailored new products for Japan, while Shenzhen's Pudu Robotics is accelerating its overseas expansion. With a complete domestic supply chain, Chinese firms are leveraging this advantage to compete globally, according to a report from the People's Daily Overseas Edition.

In Japan and South Korea, Chinese service robots are particularly popular with consumers. According to a survey by IDC, China's service robot exports reached 1.51 billion yuan ($210 million) in 2023, with 62.5 percent going to Japan and South Korea. In the third quarter of 2024 alone, 5.014 million smart vacuum cleaners were shipped worldwide, with Chinese products accounting for nearly half of the global market, the report said.

Challenges and prospects

Wang said China's service robot industry is expanding rapidly but faces some challenges. "Key parts like high-precision sensors and force control remain the bottlenecks, and robots struggle to adapt from structured factory settings to unstructured homes. Ethical concerns and data security risks are pressing, while oversupply and price wars in the low-end market are squeezing profits and restricting innovation."

He noted the industry should move from tool substitution to intelligent symbiosis. "This calls for deeper advances such as brain-computer interfaces and swarm intelligence, enabling robots to shift from execution to autonomy. It also requires supply chain collaboration and the creation of global standards and ethical frameworks."

In the future, China could look to move beyond exporting products toward exporting standards and ecosystems, while using localization to ease cultural barriers and gradually increase its share in the high-end markets. With sustained innovation, ecosystem collaboration and proper ethical safeguards, the industry may find a path from scale expansion to real value creation, he said.

From fetching coffee to reciting poetry, humanoids are quickly becoming part of China's urban life—a sign that service robots are moving from novelty to necessity.