In a Swiss nuclear power plant, quadruped robots patrol narrow corridors; In Southeast Asian factories, welding robots operate 24 hours a day. In the first half of 2026, China's industrial robot exports reached 6.29 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6%, and were sold to 141 countries and regions worldwide. In 2025, China has just become a net exporter of industrial robots, and a year later, this curve is still accelerating upwards.

Three tiers support the export map

Chinese robots have formed a clear echelon for going global. The first tier is industrial robots - with exports of 6.29 billion yuan in the first half of the year, it is the category with the widest export coverage. Guangdong contributes 23.6% of the country's industrial robot exports, and the production lines in Shenzhen and Foshan are operating at full capacity. The export value of the three major robot categories in Shanghai increased by 1.2 times, with surgical robots experiencing an explosive growth of 2.4 times, and the export market expanding from 23 to 49.

The second tier is cleaning robots. The total export value of intelligent bionic robots and cleaning robots is 18.09 billion yuan, of which cleaning robots lead the entire category with 14 billion yuan, accounting for more than 70% of the total export value of robots. After the addition of a specialized tax number in 2026, this category will have its own "ID card". The top five brands in the global household cleaning robot market are all from China.

The third tier is cutting-edge intelligent bionic robots. In the first half of the year, exports exceeded 400 million yuan, with Zhejiang accounting for 60% of the country's total. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Chinese quadruped robots account for nearly 70% of global sales, with over 400 humanoid robot products, exceeding half of the global total.

From selling devices to outputting solutions

Domestic robots no longer only sell single machines when going global. In response to the high-risk inspection shortcomings in the power industry, Zhejiang enterprises provide integrated intelligent inspection solutions, and quadruped robots have officially started working at Swiss nuclear power plants. Keywords: Robot

In the first five months of 2026, a total of 10.377 million units and 19.99 billion yuan of various separately listed robots were exported, and the products were exported to more than 150 countries and regions. As robots move from Chinese factories to global power plants, workshops, and homes, new quality productivity is becoming visible products.Editor/Cheng Liting