China dominates global robotics market through industrial scale

China has established a dominant industrial capacity in the humanoid and quadruped robot markets, significantly outpacing international competitors in both production scale and pricing. In 2025, approximately 15,000 humanoid robots were sold globally, with 90% originating from Chinese companies. While high-end American models from firms like Boston Dynamics can cost up to US$200,000, Chinese alternatives are available in the US$5,000 to US$10,000 range.

Unitree Robotics, a prominent Chinese firm, recently saw its market value more than quintuple following its debut on the Shanghai stock exchange. The company’s success is partly attributed to its quadruped robots, such as the Go2 model, which retails for approximately US$1,600. Research suggests that these advancements may have inadvertently benefited from American-funded research. Specifically, the design of Unitree’s robots closely mirrors developments like the MIT-developed Mini Cheetah and movement technologies funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL).

While the use of these publicly available research findings is not illegal, the combination of American technological foundations and robust Chinese government support has allowed Chinese firms to achieve market results that outpace American competitors like Ghost Robotics.