On 24 August 2026, the Department of Science and Technology at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a Call for Comment on the Draft Guidelines on the Construction of the Standards System for the National Humanoid Robot Industry (hereinafter referred to as the Draft Guidelines). Feedback is open until 23 September 2026.
The Draft Guidelines stressed the importance to establish terminology and definitions, interface, and testing and evaluation standards, therefore regulating the innovation and deployment of this emerging technology. To date, no formal humanoid robot standards have been officially released in China or abroad, while the number of standards under development and under pre-standardization research has exceeded 100.
The Draft Guidelines set overall goal of prioritizing breakthroughs in six areas – basic commonality, brain-inspired computing and intelligent computing, limbs and components, complete robots and systems, application, and safety and ethics- which all together form the skeleton of the proposed standards system. By 2028, at least 100 key standards are to be developed in areas such as humanoid robot capability testing and evaluation methods, core technologies, platforms and systems, application scenarios, and safety governance.
The construction of the national standards system for humanoid robot industry adheres to the principle of “a comprehensive system, urgent needs first, dynamic updates.” 42 development areas have been identified and grouped under the six pillars, with further expansion expected in basic commonality, limbs and components, and application aspects. The full overview of the proposed standards system is shown below.
- Basic commonality standardsprovides the foundational, general-purpose, and guidance-oriented norms needed for the industry’s development.
- Brain-inspired and intelligent computing standardscoordinates key standards for humanoid robots’ “big brain” and “small brain” functions and the intelligent-computing infrastructure that supports them, governing technologies for training, data, models, and development.
- Limbs and components standardscovers the key standards for limbs and components in R&D and application.
- Complete machines and systems standardsaddress the physical hardware, system software, and the integration of the two.
- Application standardsrespond to sector-specific needs, specifying the development, operation, and maintenance of humanoid robots across different application scenarios.
- Safety and ethics standardsrun through the entire life cycle of the industry, providing safety and compliance safeguards for technological advancement.
For European stakeholders, the Draft Guidelines offer an early indication of how China intends to shape the national humanoid robot industry standards system. They provide a timely basis for comparison with existing international and European frameworks, helping to identify areas of interoperability and potential collaboration as well as possible points of conflict. SESEC recommends that relevant European stakeholders closely track the development and scrutinize the finalized document once it is officially released.
Source: https://wap.miit.gov.cn/jgsj/kjs/jscx/bzgf/art/2026/art_ef26915b2f0843d58a22f5a090690195.html
