Humanoid makers selling into China face closer official tracking of output, quality and data security, while retailers and caterers are being asked to become test customers.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will build a monitoring system for the humanoid robot industry and step up testing of product quality, network and data security, and ethical governance, a senior official said at a State Council Information Office (SCIO) press conference on October 19. Wei Wei, who heads MIIT’s science and technology department (科技司), also repeated the ministry’s output figures: more than 400 complete humanoid models released and over 40,000 units produced in the first half of 2026, with full-year output expected to exceed 100,000, according to The Paper.
The production numbers were already public. MIIT’s science and technology department put the 100,000-unit forecast on record in early July, and Vice Minister Ke Jixin gave the 40,000 first-half figure in mid-July. What the briefing added is a sharper set of policy commitments: an industry monitoring system, a push to deploy robots in real workplaces through what Wei described as real-scene training, and an instruction to dig into demand in industrial, special-purpose and livelihood (民生) settings, the last covering services that touch daily life.
Wei said products are now being trialed and deployed in more than 300 key scenarios, including warehousing and logistics, food service and retail, and home services. He did not say when the monitoring system would be in place or what data it would collect, and none of the reports describe how it would work.
The 100,000-unit forecast dates back to July
Gan Xiaobin, deputy head of the same MIIT department, told a press conference for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference on July 7 that full-year humanoid output could pass 100,000 units, Xinhua reported. Ten days later, Ke told a meeting of MIIT’s humanoid robot and embodied AI standardization committee in Shangyu, Zhejiang, that output had already exceeded 40,000 units in the first half and should top 100,000 for the year, according to Guangming Online. TechNode, citing Xinhua, reported on July 20 that MIIT counted more than 400 humanoid products, over half the global total.
China’s humanoid robot output in 2025 was about 20,000 units, so MIIT’s 100,000-unit forecast implies at least a fivefold rise in one year. Ke gave that 2025 baseline at the July meeting.
MIIT’s numbers measure production. Market researcher IDC counted nearly 25,000 humanoid robots shipped worldwide in the first half, with China taking about 77.9%, as EastFrontier reported on IDC’s figures in September. MIIT counts units made and IDC counts units delivered to customers, so the two figures measure different stages and cannot be reconciled directly.
Commercial sites are being asked to host robot trials
Wei grouped MIIT’s next steps under four headings. On technology, the ministry will use challenge-based competitions, in which companies bid to solve named problems, to tackle shared core technologies. Universities and companies are already working on motion control, simulation and tactile sensing, according to IT Home.
On applications, MIIT will deepen real-scene training and encourage commercial and trading enterprises to open their sites for validation, 21st Century Business Herald reported. The request fits the briefing’s broader theme of using technology to lift the commerce sector.
The training push builds on a campaign that MIIT and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) launched in June, which an earlier Xinhua report said aims to develop more than 100 high-value application scenarios by the end of 2026 and build capacity for deployment in the tens of thousands of units. That campaign also encourages robots-as-a-service arrangements, such as pay-per-use and operating leases, to cut upfront costs for buyers.
On the ecosystem, Wei said MIIT will publish the National Humanoid Robot Industry Standard System Construction Guide (2026 Edition) (国家人形机器人产业标准体系建设指南（2026版）) and build an open-source community for humanoid robots. The safety heading covers the new monitoring system and testing.
The standards guide is the next document to watch
The standards guide went out for public comment from August 25 to September 23. The draft targets at least 100 key standards by 2028, covering testing methods, core technologies, platforms, application scenarios and safety governance, according to Xinhua’s report on the draft. EastFrontier covered that 2028 standardization target when the draft appeared.
Publication of the final guide would show whether the safety and governance standards are tied to the new monitoring system. MIIT has not said whether the system will draw on company production reports, test results or deployment records. The ministry’s full-year production figure for 2026 will show whether the 100,000-unit forecast, unchanged since July, holds.