Industrial robot demand boosts China's export growth

The contribution of China’s equipment manufacturing products to the country’s overall export growth rate climbed to nearly 77 percent in May, largely driven by the surging demand for industrial robots amid global trade tensions.

Helped by last month's data, exported manufacturing equipment from January through May contributed to 73 percent of overall outbound shipment growth, China’s General Administration of Customs said on Monday.

It comes as the exports of industrial robots soared 55.4 percent year-on-year for the first five months of 2025 in terms of yuan. Data from the GAC showed that the value of shipped industrial robots amounted to 1.13 billion yuan (HK$1.23 billion) for the January-April period.

Notably, China saw several startups focusing on artificial intelligence-powered humanoid robots emerge this year, including Unitree Robotics, which is reportedly seeking a valuation of up to 15 billion yuan. Shares of Shenzhen Dobot (2432) gained nearly 152 percent after going public in Hong Kong in December 2024.

Moreover, exported electric vehicles grew 19 percent for the first five months of the year, without a detailed value.

In the first five months of this year, China exported 6.22 trillion yuan of equipment manufacturing products, an increase of 9.2 percent, accounting for 58.3 percent of the total value of China's exports.

STAFF REPORTER