China’s armed forces are testing humanoid robots against combat requirements and studying how the machines could fight alongside soldiers, according to a Reuters survey of more than 100 Chinese military procurement notices, patents, academic studies, government records, and defense-company materials.

Researchers cited in the review believe hardware for building-clearing missions could be ready within five to 10 years. That timeline would put humanoid combat systems in the same technological horizon as the wider AI arms competition between Beijing and Washington, which has already produced sanctions on semiconductor exports and restrictions on advanced robotics trade.

NUDT researchers picture six robots clearing a building room by room

Last month in Beijing, robots raced, danced, and boxed at the World Humanoid Robot Games, clocking sprint times that beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record at the National Speed Skating Oval.

Two days after the event, PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army, called on researchers to take the same technology out of laboratories and onto military training grounds for use as robotic “combatants.”

Beijing’s defense establishment is accordingly ramping up research on military applications and planning for eventual wartime deployment. However, no armed humanoid has been detected in service with an operational PLA unit — a gap between stated ambition and observed capability that analysts typically track through procurement notices, patents, and training-ground footage like those surveyed by Reuters.

A study published in August 2025 by researchers at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Xi’an simulated a team of six combat robots — a mix of humanoids, robot dogs, and unmanned vehicles split into two squads that would sweep through an enemy-occupied building room by room while working with ground troops. The scenario mirrors the way drone and ground-robot teams have already been used in recent conflicts, where uncrewed systems have taken on reconnaissance and resupply roles before troops enter contested areas.

Chinese firms shipped 95% of the world’s humanoids last year

A June 2025 procurement document showed the PLA had allocated roughly $300,000 for a system to gather and label camera, radar, and motion data so humanoids can learn to cross varied terrain.

The state-owned manufacturer Norinco already has a product on offer. Its Fuxi humanoid is designed for sentry duty, all-weather reconnaissance and patrols, and can be remotely operated by a human operator.

Chinese firms shipped about 95% of the world’s humanoids in 2025, giving the PLA easy access to hardware. The United States is pursuing the same capability through the Army’s xTechHumanoid competition, which offers prizes of up to $490,000 and follow-on contracts worth $1.25 million, but its robotics industry still trails China’s. The shortfall matters because dual-use supply chains — batteries, actuators, sensors, and rare-earth components — feed both commercial and military programs, so industrial capacity translates directly into the pace of military experimentation.

China’s defense ministry said in March that AI-powered weapons should remain under human control. The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that autonomous weapons may be unable to read signs of surrender, and neither Beijing’s paper nor Norinco’s marketing resolves how a machine would distinguish a combatant from a civilian. The question sits at the center of stalled United Nations talks on lethal autonomous weapons, where major powers including China, the United States, and Russia have not agreed on a binding legal framework.

Cryptopolitan previously reported that Hangzhou has deployed 15 humanoid traffic robots around West Lake since May, while Washington has moved to bar new Chinese humanoids from the US market over supply chain and security concerns.

Source: Reuters via Yahoo News