CHINA: Chinese manufacturer MyActuator, which makes intelligent drive modules for humanoid robots, has seen a sharp rise in orders as artificial intelligence (AI) companies from the United States, including OpenAI, rush to stock up on key components before potential tariff hikes take effect.

The surge came after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports starting Nov 1, shortly after Beijing tightened export controls on rare earth materials and related technologies.

South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the company’s marketing operations, that the Suzhou-based firm received over 1,000 new orders in the past week alone.

He added that clients explicitly said the orders were “emergency purchases” made to avoid potential tariff hikes.

The company’s factories in Suzhou, Dongguan and Changzhou are currently working overtime to meet demand. “We need to ship everything before the new tariff policy takes effect,” he said, adding that this time, American clients appear to be taking the tariff threats seriously.

“Even when the previous tariff threats went up to triple digits, only a few clients increased their orders – and not by much. This time, it feels like Americans really believe Trump means it.”

MyActuator, a relatively small firm with just over 70 employees and an annual revenue of around RMB50 million (S$9 million), usually handles tens of thousands of orders annually.

A netizen online commented that the moves of the US administration appear to keep “scoring against themselves,” while another said that China’s affordable and admirable quality humanoid robots would soon flood global markets, much like electric vehicles (EVs) have in recent years. /TISG

Read also: Are China’s EV price cuts going too far? Chinese official calls on automakers for ‘rational competition’

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