Berlin: Germany has called for urgent action to strengthen Europe’s position in the rapidly intensifying global race for humanoid robots, warning that the emerging technology is becoming a strategic battleground in the competition for industrial and technological leadership.
The warning came as China’s humanoid robotics sector scored a major milestone with Unitree, one of the country’s leading humanoid robot manufacturers, making a spectacular debut on Shanghai’s Star Market and becoming the first humanoid-robot maker to be listed on mainland China’s stock market.
Unitree shares opened at 150.80 yuan, their initial public offering price, before surging to as high as 1,100 yuan during trading. The stock later surrendered part of its gains but still closed at 845 yuan, representing an increase of around 460 per cent over the IPO price.
The dramatic market debut underscored growing investor expectations surrounding China’s robotics industry, which has emerged as one of the most closely watched sectors in the country’s drive to develop advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and physical AI technologies.
The development also comes amid an increasingly intense technological rivalry between China and the United States, with robotics, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and other advanced technologies becoming central to the broader competition for industrial supremacy.
Against this backdrop, Germany’s engineering industry has urged policymakers to treat humanoid robotics as a strategic priority.
Hartmut Rauen, Deputy Executive Director of Germany’s VDMA engineering association, said Germany and Europe needed to build a comprehensive industrial value chain capable of producing critical components domestically.
“Germany and Europe must establish a comprehensive value chain featuring domestic production of critical components,” Rauen said.
The VDMA warned that the world was entering a period of intensified competition over humanoid robotics and physical AI, arguing that the issue should be placed at the highest levels of the political agenda.
Humanoid robots are increasingly viewed not simply as experimental machines but as a potentially transformative industrial technology. Their ability to operate in environments designed for humans could allow them to perform tasks across manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, healthcare and other sectors.
For Europe, the challenge is particularly significant because leadership in the field will depend not only on developing sophisticated robots but also on securing access to motors, sensors, actuators, batteries, control systems, artificial-intelligence technologies and other critical components.
The German warning therefore reflects a broader concern that Europe could become dependent on foreign suppliers in another strategically important technology sector unless it rapidly develops its own capabilities and supply chains.
China, meanwhile, is seeking to translate its strengths in manufacturing, electronics, artificial intelligence and industrial automation into leadership in humanoid robotics. The spectacular performance of Unitree shares on their first day of trading highlights the growing commercial and strategic importance attached to the sector.
Unitree’s financial performance has also demonstrated the rapid expansion of demand for its technology. The company recorded revenue of 1.15 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, representing a 48.5 per cent increase from the same period a year earlier.
The company’s stock-market debut and accelerating revenues provide a snapshot of a robotics industry that is moving from research laboratories and demonstrations towards commercialisation and mass production.
The emerging competition is likely to reshape the global industrial landscape. Countries capable of developing complete robotics ecosystems—from artificial intelligence and precision components to manufacturing and deployment—could gain a significant advantage in the next generation of automation.
Germany’s appeal for urgent action consequently reflects a broader European dilemma: whether the continent can build a competitive domestic robotics industry quickly enough to avoid falling behind China and other major technology powers.
As humanoid robots move closer to widespread industrial use, the race is no longer confined to engineering laboratories. It is becoming a contest over supply chains, investment, manufacturing capacity, technological standards and ultimately the future direction of advanced industry.
For Germany and Europe, the message from the accelerating global race is increasingly clear: the window to establish a strong position in humanoid robotics is narrowing, and strategic decisions made today could determine who controls one of the most consequential technologies of the coming industrial era.
