The customized robot rental business is gaining momentum in Beijing, capital of China, where demand has pushed order books well into the period following the upcoming Spring Festival, which falls on February 17 this year.
Gao Li, head of a robot leasing company in the city, said his team is fulfilling a wide range of rental orders. The robots are being deployed for tasks including restaurant food delivery, serving as tour guides at scenic spots, and even performing street dance routines at events.
"This is a full-sized humanoid robot capable of writing and performing even very delicate movements. Here is one of our most diligent robots. As you can see, many parts of its body already show signs of wear. It has been sent out on different assignments every day since it arrived, and on its busiest day it completed eight tasks in a single day," Gao said.
As the market demand rises while robot prices drop, Gao said he has expanded his robot team to 23 humanoid robots, 12 robot dogs and thousands of drones. He said the company has moved to a new office area twice as large as the previous one.
"Almost all our staff members are stationed at client sites, working intensively every day. Our order book is already fully scheduled through the Lantern Festival, the 15th day in the first lunar month, well after the Spring Festival," He said.
Gao said January saw a notable rise of customized robot rental demands compared to the previous months, accounting for 60 percent of total orders.
"As the Spring Festival approaches, orders for private events have increased, such as birthday banquets, private gatherings and tea parties. I think robots will increasingly become part of everyday life of ordinary people," he said.
Data showed that in 2025, more than 1,500 robot rental companies were established across China, a year-on-year increase of 48.1 percent compared to the previous year.
As robot supply continues to rise and daily rental prices for individual robots are declining, more and more robots are making their way into ordinary households, according to experts.
Customized robot rental business heats up in China's capital city
Customized robot rental business heats up in China's capital city
China's special fiscal-financial coordination fund of 100 billion yuan (around 17.8 billion U.S. dollars) aimed at boosting domestic demand will focus more on unlocking consumption and investment potential with limited resources to stabilize growth in the second half of this year, according to an economic expert.
The central government has rolled out a six-part policy package under this special fund. Among the six measures, four are designed to support private investment. They include interest subsidies on loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and on loans for equipment renewal, a special guarantee program for private investment, and a risk-sharing mechanism for corporate bonds issued by private enterprises.
In addition, two interest subsidy schemes are being implemented to stimulate consumption -- one for personal consumption loans and the other for loans to service-sector businesses.
According to Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities, the policies have gradually yielded results over the first half of this year.
"The policies have further boosted related consumption, with culture, tourism and health services seeing relatively high growth rates. In the first half of this year, the growth rate of service-sector consumption was significantly higher than that of retail sales of goods. The policies have also optimized the investment structure. In the first half of the year, investment in equipment and instruments, which is a sub-category of fixed-asset investment, grew by 8.1 percent. Much of this is attributed to the interest subsidy support for loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and for equipment renewal," Luo said.
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee held a meeting in Beijing on Thursday to analyze and study the current economic situation and make arrangements for economic work in the second half of this year.
The meeting called for optimizing the implementation of fiscal-financial coordination policies to boost domestic demand.
Luo said the meeting's call clearly signals efforts to expand domestic demand and stabilize economic growth, and that policy optimization will help sustain the release of consumption potential and investment vitality.
"We need to focus more on the systematic integration of policies and their multiplier effect, so that limited policy resources can deliver greater outcomes and better stabilize the economy. In the implementation process, policies serve as a catalyst. Ultimately, what they are meant to unleash is the vitality of social capital," Luo said.
China's fiscal fund to spur consumption, investment potential in H2: expert
