SHANGHAI: It took a few seconds to respond to Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s voice command but slowly and surely, the diminutive robot took a step forward and extended an arm for a handshake.

Made by Unitree Robotics, one of China’s leading humanoid robot makers, the robot was one of several human-like machines that SM Lee interacted with on May 21 as he got a glimpse of a rapidly developing technology that will soon be deployed more widely in Singapore.

During a tour of the government-backed Shanghai Municipal Humanoid Robot Innovation Incubator, SM Lee was also served a freshly brewed cup of tea and given a health check, all of which were done by other humanoid robots imbued with artificial intelligence smarts.

Singapore, which has been making its own push towards robotics and physical AI, could soon benefit from China’s expertise and dominance in this field as Chinese companies look abroad for future growth.

Unitree, for instance, is one of eight firms that will be conducting large-scale trials at Punggol Digital District in the Republic’s largest smart robotics test later in 2026.

The Shanghai robotics incubator that SM Lee visited also has plans to set up a branch office in Singapore as early as October 2026, to take advantage of the Republic’s hub status and lay a path for Chinese robotic companies expanding internationally.

Apart from Singapore, the incubator will have a branch office in Hong Kong set up by June. It also has plans to set up an overseas office in Malaysia. —The Straits Times (Singapore)/ANN

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2026