China,SouthKoreaRoboticsFirmsExploreEmbodiedAICooperation

South Korean and Chinese robotics companies showcased joint projects and explored deeper cooperation in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) at a technology forum in Beijing on Thursday.

Driven by warming bilateral ties under South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, the push for joint research and unified standards highlights a mutual effort to overcome supply chain constraints and data silos in the booming robotics sector.

Five South Korean robotics firms and several Chinese startups participated in a roadshow at the ZGC Forum, though none of the South Korean firms specialized in manufacturing humanoid robots.

Kim Tae-yong, CEO of the South Korean robot logistics solutions provider Rovigos, said the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with JD.com Inc. to design warehouse logistics systems and is also partnering with China’s Unitree Robotics. Kim said he expects to develop AI-powered dispatch platforms with Chinese partners to target global markets.

Among the other South Korean participants were AidAll, which develops navigation robots for the visually impaired, the medical diagnostic firm Connecteve, the quality inspection company Hypernology, and the semiconductor testing platform AIworx.

Chinese robotics firms are also expanding their footprint in South Korea. EncoSmart CEO Chen Zhen said the company delivered its first fried-chicken-making robot to Seoul in September 2025, which has processed 20,000 units over the past six months. According to Chen, the company’s service robots are now deployed in more than 7,000 domestic venues and 3,000 overseas catering and hospitality businesses.

Diplomatic shifts have paved the way for deeper technological exchanges. Park Yoon-gyu, head of South Korea’s National IT Industry Promotion Agency, said that bilateral tech cooperation is gradually recovering under Lee’s administration following earlier disruptions caused by international geopolitical tensions. Park added that a joint scientific and technological committee meeting between the two countries is scheduled to convene in May.

Shin Sang-yeol, science and technology counselor at the South Korean Embassy in China, suggested the two countries leverage their strong manufacturing bases to create a mutually beneficial mechanism for research and testing.

Despite the optimistic outlook, significant hurdles remain for cross-border collaboration in the robotics sphere. Sun Mingjun, head of the Zhongguancun Institute of Artificial Intelligence, identified data silos as a primary technical bottleneck, noting that disparate systems and communication protocols prevent robots from sharing data across platforms.

To address these barriers, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has established an embodied AI standard committee, known as TC7, to unify data collection and communication protocols. Sun suggested the two countries could share testing facilities to build standardized communication mechanisms.

Concerns over intellectual property ownership and supply chain restrictions also complicate joint development efforts. Baek Eun-hye, an assistant professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Integrated Circuits, suggested that China and South Korea could share computing resources to better understand each other’s technologies and develop common industry standards.

Contact editor Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com)