A U.S. delegation has come to south China's tech hub Shenzhen to search for cooperation opportunities with the city's booming robot sector.
The 16-member delegation from the U.S. Midwest on Friday visited companies in Shenzhen, where 11.13 billion yuan, or about 1.67 billion U.S. dollars, worth of robots in the first eight months of 2026, up 1,220 percent from a year earlier.
Composed of corporate executives, institutional investors and civic leaders, the delegation examined the supply chain from core components to finished robots at the "Robot Valley" in Shenzhen's Nanshan District.
One stop took the group to the showroom of Shenzhen-based DOBOT, a maker of collaborative robots, or cobots.
"We have our own program, and if you buy our cobot, we will give you our software and our program, so you don’t need to program it by yourself," a DOBOT staff told the group.
For Phil Clement, president and CEO of Chicago's economic development agency World Business Chicago, the visit highlighted both the pace of robotics development in Shenzhen and the range of potential applications.
"Robot industry here is incredible. I mean, it's moving at such a speed. We were here last year. The developments are outstanding. Now we're seeing very specific use cases that have a lot of value: elderly care; some of them might be an industrial use in a factory," said Clement.
The visitors also considered what could sustain demand for automation over the longer term.
"I'm extremely sort of positive as far as the future of cobots is concerned because with declining birth rates we need automation to drive productivity," said Wilfried Aulbur, a senior partner at consultancy Roland Berger.
Shenzhen's supplier network gives manufacturers access to expertise and components nearby. Its "Robot Valley" in Nanshan is home to more than 200 robotics companies working across software, sensing and actuation systems, and core components.
International consultancy Frost and Sullivan predicted an expanding global humanoid robot market. Sales reached 36,000 units in the first half of 2026, exceeding the 35,000 sold in all of 2025, while revenue totaled 540 million US dollars, according to the agency.
Chinese companies held all five top spots by revenue, including two based in Shenzhen. China-made robots have been sold in more than 120 countries and regions. Local manufacturers say visits by overseas business groups have become more frequent this year.
"We receive three to five visiting clients a day. Visits by overseas customers, including major industrial groups exploring high-level partnerships, have doubled. Overseas markets account for the bulk of our revenue," said Dong Yuanhang, head of global industry business at DOBOT.
Pudu Robotics, another Shenzhen manufacturer, also sells a broad range of robots abroad.
"Exports have accounted for more than 80 percent of our total sales revenue this year. We export products across our entire range, including our newest humanoid and semi-humanoid robots, robot dogs and other embodied-intelligence products. Our overseas sales have grown more than 60 percent year on year," said Guo Cong, chief technology officer at Pudu Robotics.
US delegation explores partnership in China's thriving robot sector
