Humanoid robots start the sorting mail at China Post depots
State-backed humanoids in core logistics signal China racing to automate everyday industrial labour at scale.
Key takeaways
- While the M7 can be upgraded to have legs, the package sorters in Guangzhou are static and posted at stations along a conveyor belt which brings the packages to them.
- In a of a similar robot by US firm Figure AI, a human intern was able to sort 192 more packages than his metallic co-worker over a 10-hour shift, despite taking lunch and bathroom breaks.
- In addition to a growing army of M7s, the China Post hub employs a legion of robotic arms and unmanned forklifts, processing an average of 6.5 million parcels a day.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2026) 'Humanoid robots start the sorting mail at China Post depots', 311 Institute, 2 May. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/humanoid-robots-start-the-sorting-mail-at-china-post-depots/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
It’s no secret by now that the Chinese tech sector is going all-in on robotics. Last September, the country broke the record for the number of industrial robots in operation; the People’s Republic likewise produces about of the world’s humanoid robots, which Dark Factories and kiosks are experimenting with across the country.
Now, even China’s state-owned postal carrier is getting in on the frenzy. According photos , a state media organ, humanoid robots are now being deployed to sort packages at a major mail processing facility in the southern city of Guangzhou.
The facility, run by the country’s state-owned mail enterprise China Post Group, has installed an unspecified number of humanoid package handlers, which together are capable of processing up to 1,200 parcels per hour, People’s Daily claims.
According to reporting shared on , the robot in question is a , produced by the company RobotEra. Though the base unit isn’t bipedal - it appears to be a torso on a stand - the M7 is advertised as having a 360-degree field of view integrated with 3D LiDAR, which it uses to guide arms its with 7 degrees of freedom, and hands with 12.
Humanoids are in industrial settings like these around the world, where arm and finger dexterity is often prioritised over mobility. While the M7 can be upgraded to have legs, the package sorters in Guangzhou are static and posted at stations along a conveyor belt which brings the packages to them.
Despite the buzzy photo-op, there is a question of how efficient each particular M7 actually is on the jobsite, especially compared to a human package handler. In a of a similar robot by US firm Figure AI, a human intern was able to sort 192 more packages than his metallic co-worker over a 10-hour shift, despite taking lunch and bathroom breaks.
Either way, the visible presence of humanoids in a state-owned mail facility - and their spotlight in People’s Daily - is a pretty solid sign of Chinese authorities’ confidence in the country’s robotics industry. In addition to a growing army of M7s, the China Post hub employs a legion of robotic arms and unmanned forklifts, processing an average of 6.5 million parcels a day.
While humanoids probably won’t be doing all the industrial lifting anytime soon, their increasingly productive presence in the factories of the world is becoming pretty difficult to ignore.
FAQ
Are humanoid robots ready to replace human parcel handlers?
Not yet, early tests show a human intern still out-sorted a comparable robot, but their spreading presence in state facilities shows where the trajectory is heading.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 2 May 2026. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2026). Humanoid robots start the sorting mail at China Post depots. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/humanoid-robots-start-the-sorting-mail-at-china-post-depots/
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