China Plans Humanoid Robots for Battlefield Roles

China is accelerating efforts to develop humanoid robots for military use, moving beyond public demonstrations toward battlefield testing, training and potential deployment alongside troops. A Reuters review found Chinese military institutions are studying robots’ perception, manipulation and data requirements, including possible roles in urban combat, while drawing lessons from the expanding use of autonomous systems in the Russia-Ukraine war. China’s dominant domestic manufacturing base—responsible for about 95% of global humanoid shipments in 2025—gives the People’s Liberation Army unusually broad access to the technology, although there is no evidence that armed humanoid robots are operating with PLA units. Separately, Chinese authorities are promoting real-world deployment of embodied-intelligence systems in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, emergency response and other specialized operations. The push faces major obstacles: robots remain energy-intensive, unreliable outside controlled settings and laborious to train, with some basic tasks requiring hundreds of attempts and projects still dependent on state support.