China-Backed Humanoid Robot Mass Production Base Opens in Serbia

On August 29, 2026, the western Serbian city of Šabac witnessed a milestone in global robotics: the official launch of Europe's first mass-production facility for humanoid robots. The factory, jointly built by Chinese automotive supplier Minth Group and Shanghai-based humanoid robot manufacturer AgiBot, commenced serial production with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in attendance.

The first humanoid robot rolled off the assembly line on the very day operations began. During the launch ceremony, Vučić toured the production facilities and exhibition area, interacted with the robots, and even stepped onto a mini football pitch to face a shooting robot as a goalkeeper. The demonstration robots showcased an array of capabilities — writing Chinese calligraphy, folding clothes, playing chess, and dancing — underscoring the maturity of embodied-intelligence technology now flowing from China's supply chain into the European market.

Investment and Capacity

The first phase of the Šabac facility represents an investment of approximately €20 million and covers roughly 3,000 square meters. The site focuses on assembling humanoid robots and robotic dogs, calibrating motion and vision systems, and conducting performance testing. Initial annual output is expected to exceed 5,000 units, generating around 200 local jobs.

According to the broader plan, the project will expand into a full robotics industrial park in Serbia, with total investment projected to reach approximately €200 million. Once fully completed, the facility's annual production capacity for humanoid robots and robotic dogs is expected to reach up to 20,000 units, targeting markets across Europe and beyond.

A Strategic Partnership

The collaboration traces its origins to February 2026, when President Vučić announced that Serbia would partner with Minth Group and AgiBot to build Europe's first large-scale humanoid robot production base. Three months later, on May 27, Vučić visited Minth Group's futuristic factory in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, where he reportedly remarked that the facility felt “like the 22nd century.” Just three months after that visit, production was already underway in Šabac.

Minth Group, a Hong Kong-listed automotive components company headquartered in Jiaxing, has been a fixture in Serbia since 2018. Over the past eight years, the company has built 10 factories in the country and created nearly 5,000 jobs. AgiBot, formally known as AgiBot Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., is one of China's leading humanoid robot manufacturers and was ranked by London-based research firm Omdia as a first-tier global vendor, having shipped more than 5,000 general-purpose embodied-intelligence robots in 2025.

Technology and Applications

The mass-produced robots are equipped with multimodal perception systems, with tactile and sensing technologies integrated into their fingertips for precise force control and flexible grasping. The factory demonstrates capabilities including high-precision flexible manipulation, intelligent environmental adaptation, multi-robot coordination, and industrial automation.

In the near term, the robots will be deployed in industrial settings — loading and unloading, material handling, and inspection — replacing workers in dangerous and repetitive tasks while improving manufacturing efficiency and safety. Vučić also highlighted the potential of robotic dogs, which can deliver items, run, and even perform martial arts routines. He envisioned applications in hazardous material handling and elderly care, where labor shortages are acute.

The first batch of robots from the Šabac factory will be deployed at the 2027 Belgrade Specialized World Expo, with the Serbian government planning to procure approximately 80 units for greeting, cleaning, and other service roles.

China's Global Robot Supply Chain

The Šabac project is the first robot factory invested by a Chinese enterprise in Europe, and it arrives at a moment when China's humanoid robot supply chain is increasingly going global. According to data from China's National Development and Reform Commission, eight out of every ten humanoid and quadruped intelligent robots sold worldwide come from China. Counterpoint Research reported that China accounted for over 80 percent of the 16,000 humanoid robots installed globally in 2025, while Omdia ranked three Chinese companies — AgiBot, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech — as the only first-tier vendors in its global assessment.

Minth's approach to the Serbian venture reflects a broader pattern. Rather than simply exporting finished products, the company is transferring an entire industrial system. Core Serbian employees were first sent to Minth's headquarters in Jiaxing for systematic training. As Zhao Wei, general manager of Minth's robotics subsidiary, put it: “What China exports is not a monopolized end product, but the entire industrial system — including technology, supply chains, and talent development.”

A New Frontier for Serbia

For Vučić, the Šabac factory represents more than a single industrial project. He described it as “an important step toward the future” and said Serbia was becoming “a pioneer in the serial production of humanoid robots in Europe.” The president expressed hope that Serbia would integrate robot manufacturing with artificial intelligence, supercomputing, and data centers, boosting local talent development and strengthening the country's position in Europe's robotics industry.

The launch also deepens the China-Serbia strategic partnership. At the ceremony, a humanoid robot took the stage to deliver a speech, highlighting the strengthening of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations. Vučić thanked China for its support, crediting the bilateral “ironclad friendship” with bringing Serbia new opportunities and opening a new era.

As China's humanoid robot supply chain extends its reach from factory floors in Shanghai to production lines in Šabac, the global landscape of robotics manufacturing is being redrawn — with China at its center and partners like Serbia as the new frontier.