Setting the pace

"Chinese robotics companies have quietly moved from 'latecomers' to pacesetters in several key segments, especially at the consumer and light-commercial level," said Liu Shaoshan, director of the Center for Embodied AI at Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society in Guangdong province.

In addition, many of the robotics products that people see in shopping malls across Asia are designed, manufactured, and often fully engineered in China, even if they carry different brands, Liu told China Daily.

Dreame Technology, a smart home appliance maker based in East China's Jiangsu province that was established in 2017, has expanded its product lines to more than 100 countries and regions, including Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

In 2025, the company recorded notable growth in markets such as Australia, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Thailand, and Indonesia.

The brand, which began its expansion into the Southeast Asian market in 2021, has also maintained its position as the top-performing and fastest-growing brand in the smart cleaning category on Shopee, a major online shopping platform in the region, for two consecutive years, a company spokesperson said.

Similarly, Beijing-based Roborock is actively expanding its global manufacturing operations and launched its original equipment manufacturer production in Vietnam in the fourth quarter of 2024. The move makes Roborock the first Chinese robot vacuum maker to successfully establish overseas OEM production capabilities, according to the company's half-year report released in August.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in the US city of Las Vegas in early January, Chinese robot vacuum companies again displayed their core products at the major annual tech trade event for new gadgets, showcasing the future direction of the industry.

For example, Roborock introduced the world's first two-wheel architecture in a robot vacuum. Mova, a sub-brand of Dreame, unveiled a groundbreaking flying robot module designed to help robot vacuums navigate stairs in multi-story homes.

Ecovacs went beyond robot vacuums to introduce its first robotic pool cleaner, and even a robot pet companion with AI-powered functions to provide a new form of digital companionship.

"The current Chinese robotics boom is different from the past era led by State-owned enterprises or industrial robots," said Seoin Baek, an assistant professor of the School of Global Culture and Commerce at Hanyang University in Seoul. "It is a private sector-led, startup-driven innovation."

Noting that Chinese robotics companies' expansion aligns with the broader global push of most Chinese firms, Baek said their strong technological capability and competitiveness help stabilize supply chains from the perspective of providing quality products.

For example, Roborock invested 685 million yuan ($99.3 million) in research and development in the first half of 2025, an increase of 67.28 percent from the same period in 2024. The number of R&D personnel was 1,364, a year-on-year growth of 73.54 percent.

Jesse Choi, regional director of Hong Kong's Sunwah Group in charge of Southeast Asia, said the company's innovation center in Ho Chi Minh is working to bring Chinese startups to Vietnam and vice versa.

"There are some robotics companies and AI companies interested to come," said Choi. "Because robots are expensive, it will mainly be focusing on the business-to-business market."

Choi said the company is also in talks with the local government to establish a robot and AI exhibition center in 2026 to explore how China and Vietnam can cooperate in technology transfer and developing robots.

If completed, the center will showcase different types of robots from China, ranging from drones, factory and logistics robotics, to consumer robotics and toys, he said.

Choi, who is also executive vice-chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, said he also plans to invite its members to join. A few member companies in the AI robotics sector have already expressed their interest, he said.