Humanoid robots take center stage at China's Lunar New Year gala as Beijing pushes AI dominance

China's humanoid robots ready for Lunar New Year showtime

BEIJING, Feb 16 (Reuters) - China's most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, will be viewed later on Monday as a showcase for the country's cutting-edge industrial policy and Beijing's push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing. Four rising humanoid robot startups - Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab - are set to showcase their products in the gala, a televised event and touchstone for China comparable to the Super Bowl for the United States. The hype surrounding China's humanoid robot sector comes as major players including AgiBot and Unitree prepare for initial public offerings this year and domestic artificial intelligence startups release a raft of frontier models during the lucrative nine-day Lunar New Year public holiday. Last year's gala stunned viewers with 16 full-size Unitree humanoids twirling handkerchiefs and dancing in unison with human performers. Unitree's founder met President Xi Jinping weeks later at a high-profile tech symposium - the first of its kind since 2018. Xi has met five robotics startup founders in the past year, comparable to the four electric vehicle and four semiconductor entrepreneurs he met in the same timeframe, giving the nascent sector unusual visibility. The CCTV show, which drew 79% of live TV viewership in China last year, has for decades been used to highlight Beijing's tech ambitions including its space programme, drones and robotics, said Georg Stieler, Asia managing director and head of robotics and automation at technology consultancy Stieler. "What distinguishes the gala from comparable events elsewhere is the directness of the pipeline from industrial policy to prime-time spectacle," Stieler said. "Companies that appear on the gala stage receive tangible rewards in government orders, investor attention, and market access." CHINA'S STRENGTHS Behind the spectacle of robots running marathons and executing kung-fu kicks and backflips, China has positioned robotics and AI at the heart of its next-generation AI+ manufacturing strategy, betting that productivity gains from automation will offset pressures from its ageing workforce. "Humanoids bundle a lot of China's strengths into one narrative: AI capability, hardware supply chain, and manufacturing ambition. They are also the most 'legible' form factor for the public and officials," said Beijing-based tech analyst Poe Zhao. "In an early market, attention becomes a resource." China accounted for 90% of the roughly 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally last year, far ahead of U.S. rivals including Tesla's Optimus, according to research firm Omdia. Morgan Stanley projects that China's humanoid sales will more than double to 28,000 units this year. Elon Musk has said he expects his biggest competitor to be Chinese companies as he pivots Tesla toward a focus on embedded AI and Optimus. "People outside China underestimate China, but China is an ass-kicker next level," he said last month. So far, the real-world rollout has been limited to demonstration projects, often with support. Galbot, for example, has a contract to use its humanoid robots in factories run by battery giant CATL (300750.SZ), opens new tab, one of its major investors. UBTech (9880.HK), opens new tab won a government contract last year to send humanoid robots to work in logistics and support roles at a border crossing with Vietnam. Chinese startups are also rapidly iterating AI models to train humanoid "brains", using real-world data collection to improve their environmental perception and understanding of natural language commands. Analysts will watch Monday's performance for innovations including multi-robot coordination, fault recovery and hand-related tasks like fine-object manipulation. "A robot doing a backflip is still far more spectacular than one carefully gripping a plastic cup of water -- even though the latter is technically much more demanding," Stieler said. Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Jamie Freed and Neil Fullick Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Media & Telecom * ADAS, AV & Safety * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain Laurie Chen Thomson Reuters Laurie Chen is a China Correspondent at Reuters' Beijing bureau, covering politics and general news. Before joining Reuters, she reported on China for six years at Agence France-Presse and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. She speaks fluent Mandarin.

People -- and robots -- are getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year in China

BEIJING (AP) -- It's not just people -- in China, the robots are also getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Friday was dress rehearsal day for four cute humanoid robots, each about 95 centimeters (3 feet) tall at a mall in western Beijing. Curious onlookers stopped to watch. Each robot got a colorful lion costume and within minutes the moves started: Bend the knees, up, to the left, to the right, shake the mask, and do it all again! Ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrated next week, and as part of different "fairs" and activities around Beijing, some venues have been busy setting up their stages and props. For a second year in a row, one of the fairs will be devoted to technology and -- yes, again -- robots will take center stage. People will see them dancing and also them stacking blocks on top of others to make a little tower, skewering hawthorn berries onto a stick -- coated with a syrup, a popular sweet snack -- or playing soccer. "This year, the number of our robots has increased a lot," said Qiu Feng, a member of the organizing committee. "They will perform dance, martial arts, Peking Opera, poetry and soccer." "Some events were also available last year but the finness of the actions and the high-tech vibe are stronger" this time, Qui added. China has been scaling up its efforts to develop better robots that can perform different activities, powered by artificial intelligence and with less human intervention. But though they can now do things that were difficult to imagine a few years ago, humans are still needed to help them -- for example, to dress them or move them when they stop in the middle of a mini-soccer field. "Technology is developing faster and becoming more advanced every day," Qui also said. "As long as we keep up with this trend, our ... fair will continue to evolve and rise with the times." The robots performing at the mall were developed by some Chinese startups, like Booster Robotics. The company will display around 20 humanoid robots, which will also dance and play soccer. "It is an AI environment, which means, once the whistle sounds, the remote control will all be put aside and all its decision-making and motion control are made by the robots themselves," said Ren Zixin, director of marketing at Booster Robotics.

People -- and Robots -- Are Getting Ready to Celebrate the Lunar New Year in China

BEIJING (AP) -- It's not just people -- in China, the robots are also getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Friday was dress rehearsal day for four cute humanoid robots, each about 95 centimeters (3 feet) tall at a mall in western Beijing. Curious onlookers stopped to watch. Each robot got a colorful lion costume and within minutes the moves started: Bend the knees, up, to the left, to the right, shake the mask, and do it all again! Ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrated next week, and as part of different "fairs" and activities around Beijing, some venues have been busy setting up their stages and props. For a second year in a row, one of the fairs will be devoted to technology and -- yes, again -- robots will take center stage. People will see them dancing and also them stacking blocks on top of others to make a little tower, skewering hawthorn berries onto a stick -- coated with a syrup, a popular sweet snack -- or playing soccer. "This year, the number of our robots has increased a lot," said Qiu Feng, a member of the organizing committee. "They will perform dance, martial arts, Peking Opera, poetry and soccer." "Some events were also available last year but the finness of the actions and the high-tech vibe are stronger" this time, Qui added. China has been scaling up its efforts to develop better robots that can perform different activities, powered by artificial intelligence and with less human intervention. But though they can now do things that were difficult to imagine a few years ago, humans are still needed to help them -- for example, to dress them or move them when they stop in the middle of a mini-soccer field. "Technology is developing faster and becoming more advanced every day," Qui also said. "As long as we keep up with this trend, our ... fair will continue to evolve and rise with the times." The robots performing at the mall were developed by some Chinese startups, like Booster Robotics. The company will display around 20 humanoid robots, which will also dance and play soccer. "It is an AI environment, which means, once the whistle sounds, the remote control will all be put aside and all its decision-making and motion control are made by the robots themselves," said Ren Zixin, director of marketing at Booster Robotics.

Chinese robot makers ready for Lunar New Year entertainment spotlight

On Sunday, Shanghai-based ⁠robotics start-up Agibot live-streamed an almost hour-long variety show featuring its robots dancing, performing acrobatics and magic, lip-syncing ballads and performing in comedy sketches. Other Agibot humanoid robots waved from an audience section. In China, humanoid robots are serving as Lunar New Year entertainment, with their manufacturers pitching their song-and-dance skills to the general public as well as potential customers, investors and government officials. On Sunday, Shanghai-based ⁠robotics start-up Agibot live-streamed an almost hour-long variety show featuring its robots dancing, performing acrobatics and magic, lip-syncing ballads and performing in comedy sketches. Other Agibot humanoid robots waved from an audience section. An estimated 1.4 million people watched on the Chinese streaming platform Douyin. Agibot, which called the promotional stunt "the world's first robot-powered gala," did not have an immediate estimate for total viewership. The show ran a week ahead of China's annual Spring Festival gala to be aired by state television, an event that has become an important - if unlikely - venue for Chinese robot makers to show off their success. A squad of 16 full-size humanoids from Unitree joined human dancers in performing at China Central Television's 2025 gala, drawing stunned accolades from millions of viewers. Less than three weeks later, Unitree's founder was invited to a high-profile symposium chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Hangzhou-based robotics firm has since been preparing for a potential initial public offering. This year's CCTV gala will include participation by four humanoid robot startups, Unitree, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab, the companies and broadcaster have said. Agibot's gala employed over 200 robots. It was streamed on social media platforms RedNote, Sina Weibo, TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin. Chinese-language television networks HTTV and iCiTi TV also broadcast the performance. "When robots begin to understand Lunar New Year and begin to have a sense of humour, the human-computer interaction may come faster than we think," Ma Hongyun, a photographer and writer with 4.8 million followers on Weibo, said in a post. Agibot, which says its humanoid robots are designed for a range of applications, including in education, entertainment and factories, plans to launch an initial public offering ⁠in Hong Kong, Reuters has ⁠reported. State-run Securities Times said Agibot had opted out of the CCTV gala in order to focus spending on research and development. The company did not respond to a request for comment. The company demonstrated two of its robots to Xi during a visit in April last year. U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, who has pivoted automaker Tesla toward a focus on artificial intelligence and the Optimus humanoid robot, has said the only competitive threat he faces in robotics is from Chinese firms. Like those rivals, Musk has also used stunts to promote Optimus, rolling out human-directed robots as bartenders at an event in 2024.

China's humanoid robots take centre stage for Lunar New Year showtime

China's most-watched TV show, the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, on Monday showcased the country's cutting-edge industrial policy and Beijing's push to dominate humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing. Four rising humanoid robot startups - Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab - demonstrated their products at the gala, a televised event and touchstone for China comparable to the Super Bowl for the United States. The programme's first three sketches prominently featured humanoid robots, including a lengthy martial arts demonstration where over a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fight sequences waving swords, poles and nunchucks in close proximity to human children performers. The fight sequences included a technically ambitious one that imitated the wobbly moves and backward falls of China's "drunken boxing" martial arts style, showing innovations in multi-robot coordination and fault recovery - where a robot can get up after falling down. The programme's opening sketch also prominently featured Alibaba's AI chatbot Doubao, while four Noetix humanoid robots appeared alongside human actors in a comedy skit and MagicLab robots performed a synchronised dance with human performers during the song "We Are Made in China". The hype surrounding China's humanoid robot sector comes as major players including AgiBot and Unitree prepare for initial public offerings this year, and domestic artificial intelligence startups release a raft of frontier models during the lucrative nine-day Lunar New Year public holiday. Last year's gala stunned viewers with 16 full-size Unitree humanoids twirling handkerchiefs and dancing in unison with human performers. Unitree's founder met President Xi Jinping weeks later at a high-profile tech symposium - the first of its kind since 2018. Xi has met five robotics startup founders in the past year, comparable to the four electric vehicle and four semiconductor entrepreneurs he met in the same timeframe, giving the nascent sector unusual visibility. The CCTV show, which drew 79 per cent of live TV viewership in China last year, has for decades been used to highlight Beijing's tech ambitions, including its space programme, drones and robotics, said Georg Stieler, Asia managing director and head of robotics and automation at technology consultancy Stieler. "What distinguishes the gala from comparable events elsewhere is the directness of the pipeline from industrial policy to prime-time spectacle," Stieler said. "Companies that appear on the gala stage receive tangible rewards in government orders, investor attention, and market access." Behind the spectacle of robots running marathons and executing kung-fu kicks and backflips, China has positioned robotics and AI at the heart of its next-generation AI+ manufacturing strategy, betting that productivity gains from automation will offset pressures from its ageing workforce. "Humanoids bundle a lot of China's strengths into one narrative: AI capability, hardware supply chain, and manufacturing ambition. They are also the most 'legible' form factor for the public and officials," said Beijing-based tech analyst Poe Zhao. "In an early market, attention becomes a resource." China accounted for 90 per cent of the roughly 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally last year, far ahead of U.S. rivals including Tesla's Optimus, according to research firm Omdia. Morgan Stanley projects that China's humanoid sales will more than double to 28,000 units this year. Elon Musk has said he expects his biggest competitor to be Chinese companies as he pivots Tesla toward a focus on embodied AI and its flagship humanoid Optimus. "People outside China underestimate China, but China is an ass-kicker next level," Musk said last month.

Chinese robot makers ready for Lunar New Year entertainment spotlight

BEIJING, Feb 8 (Reuters) - In China, humanoid robots are serving as Lunar New Year entertainment, with their manufacturers pitching their song-and-dance skills to the general public as well as potential customers, investors and government officials. On Sunday, Shanghai-based robotics start-up Agibot live-streamed an almost hour-long variety show featuring its robots dancing, performing acrobatics and magic, lip-syncing ballads and performing in comedy sketches. Other Agibot humanoid robots waved from an audience section. An estimated 1.4 million people watched on the Chinese streaming platform Douyin. Agibot, which called the promotional stunt "the world's first robot-powered gala," did not have an immediate estimate for total viewership. The show ran a week ahead of China's annual Spring Festival gala to be aired by state television, an event that has become an important - if unlikely - venue for Chinese robot makers to show off their success. A squad of 16 full-size humanoids from Unitree joined human dancers in performing at China Central Television's 2025 gala, drawing stunned accolades from millions of viewers. Less than three weeks later, Unitree's founder was invited to a high-profile symposium chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Hangzhou-based robotics firm has since been preparing for a potential initial public offering. This year's CCTV gala will include participation by four humanoid robot startups, Unitree, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab, the companies and broadcaster have said. Agibot's gala employed over 200 robots. It was streamed on social media platforms RedNote, Sina Weibo, TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin. Chinese-language television networks HTTV and iCiTi TV also broadcast the performance. "When robots begin to understand Lunar New Year and begin to have a sense of humour, the human-computer interaction may come faster than we think," Ma Hongyun, a photographer and writer with 4.8 million followers on Weibo, said in a post. Agibot, which says its humanoid robots are designed for a range of applications, including in education, entertainment and factories, plans to launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong, Reuters has reported. State-run Securities Times said Agibot had opted out of the CCTV gala in order to focus spending on research and development. The company did not respond to a request for comment. The company demonstrated two of its robots to Xi during a visit in April last year. U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, who has pivoted automaker Tesla toward a focus on artificial intelligence and the Optimus humanoid robot, has said the only competitive threat he faces in robotics is from Chinese firms. Like those rivals, Musk has also used stunts to promote Optimus, rolling out human-directed robots as bartenders at an event in 2024. (Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Jamie Freed)