At Haneda Airport, a humanoid robot, 130 centimeters tall and weighing 35 kilograms, was responsible for placing luggage onto the conveyor belt under a large jet passenger plane. After finishing its work, it demonstrated an impressive performance, not forgetting to wave and properly greet its "human colleagues" nearby.

This robot, wearing a blue vest with the GMO logo, was manufactured by China's domestic robot company Unitree Robotics (宇樹科技). It is a "new employee" for ground operations, jointly "hired" by Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan's GMOAI & Robotics Commercial Co., Ltd. Starting in May, together with the service humanoid robot "WalkerE" from UBTECH (優必選科技), a humanoid robot company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, it began to undertake high-intensity tasks such as aircraft towing and cargo container loading and unloading, aiming to solve the labor shortage problem on site.

This is not the first time Chinese-made robots have been active overseas. According to a report jointly released by Beijing Saidi (北京賽迪) and China Electronics News (中国電子報), in 2025, the shipments of finished Chinese humanoid robots reached approximately 14,400 units, accounting for 84.7% of the total global shipments of such products, and also held 50% of the market size.

Chinese-made robots entered a period of explosive development for overseas expansion starting in 2025. Not only in the field of humanoid robots, but industrial robot exports also increased by 48.7% in the same year. The wave of overseas expansion continues even further this year. According to data compiled by customs, robot vacuum cleaners, newly added to customs classifications in 2026, had an export value of 7.75 billion yuan (approximately 182.125 billion yen) in the first quarter (January-March), accounting for 68.5% of the total robot exports, becoming the absolute main force of robot exports. This means that more than 6 out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold worldwide are made in China.

Li Zhiwei (リー・ジーウェイ), head of overseas operations at Yunji Technology Innovation Center, stated, "The Chinese robot industry has embarked on a different path of globalization compared to new energy vehicles. Instead of low-price 'involution' (a situation of intense internal competition within a closed environment), relying on advantages across the entire industrial chain and comprehensive exports consisting of products and services, robot manufacturers have pioneered a new model of 'value-driven overseas expansion.' Furthermore, under the new rules for overseas expansion, technology is merely an entry ticket. The shift from 'being able to sell' to 'being able to establish a foothold' is crucial, and in the latter half of the game, we will face subsequent challenges such as compliance, market trust, and product reliability."

Li also explained, "To enable future robot products to escape low-price competition, it is necessary to build higher standard barriers. For example, including challenges like elevator control, leading companies are actively involved in internationalizing connection and collaboration standards, aiming to advance 'Made in China' from simple product export to the global co-construction of system capabilities." (Provided by People's Daily Online Japanese Edition, Edited by KS)