China targets 100 key humanoid robot standards by 2028

China intends to draw up a minimum of 100 principal standards for its quickly growing humanoid robot industry by 2028, according to a draft guideline published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Mettis Global reported that public input is being sought until September 23, after the consultation began on August 25. The framework aims to create a coordinated national standards system that supports technology development, product innovation and large-scale deployment.

Coverage includes capability testing, core technologies, platforms, application scenarios, safety oversight, and ethical and social impacts. It also calls for standard methods to classify robot abilities, along with common rules for identifiers, coding and identification. For industrial use, the rules would set performance and environmental requirements, focusing on workplaces that are structured or semi-structured.

Mettis Global also noted that more than 100 related standards are already being developed or researched in China and abroad. The MIIT said on July 20 that China has built over 400 humanoid robot models, more than half the global total. Earlier, in June, the MIIT and the state assets regulator began testing robot applications, aiming for routine use in typical settings by the close of 2026.