China’s highest-rated tv occasion, the CCTV Spring Pageant Gala, took the highlight on Monday, spotlighting Beijing’s bold industrial agenda and its drive to dominate the worldwide humanoid robotics and superior manufacturing sectors.
The gala, typically likened to the Tremendous Bowl of China, featured reside demonstrations from 4 rising humanoid robotics startups Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab.
The opening sketches stole the present with a high-octane martial arts sequence by which over a dozen Unitree robots executed synchronized sword, pole, and nunchuck routines alongside human youngster performers.
A very spectacular phase emulated the “drunken boxing” type of conventional Chinese language martial arts, highlighting refined multi-robot coordination and fault restoration expertise, enabling robots to regain steadiness and proceed performing flawlessly after falls.
The gala additionally spotlighted Bytedance’s AI chatbot Doubao, whereas Noetix robots joined human actors in a comedic skit, and MagicLab robots carried out a synchronized dance to the track “We Are Made in China.”
This celebration of humanoid robotics coincides with a pivotal second for the business, as corporations like AgiBot and Unitree put together for upcoming IPOs, and home AI startups unveil cutting-edge fashions through the nine-day Lunar New 12 months vacation.
Final 12 months, 16 Unitree humanoids wowed audiences with synchronized handkerchief dances, incomes a subsequent high-profile assembly with President Xi Jinping.
Over the previous 12 months, Xi has personally engaged with 5 robotics startup founders at a stage of consideration akin to his conferences with electrical automobile and semiconductor entrepreneurs, granting the robotics sector unprecedented visibility.
The gala, which drew 79% of China’s reside TV viewers final 12 months, has lengthy served as a showcase for Beijing’s technological ambitions, from area packages to drones and robotics, in response to Georg Stieler, Asia Managing Director at consultancy Stieler. “What units this gala aside is the direct translation of commercial coverage into prime-time spectacle,” he mentioned. “Startups featured right here typically safe authorities contracts, investor consideration, and broader market entry.”
Stieler additionally famous the spectacular development in robotic efficiency, pointing to Unitree’s AI-powered robotic “brains”, which allow exact motor management with real-world functions in manufacturing.
Beijing-based tech analyst Poe Zhao added, “Humanoids bundle China’s core strengths AI, {hardware} provide chains, and manufacturing prowess into an immediately comprehensible type for each the general public and policymakers. In a nascent market, visibility is as invaluable as capital.”
China at the moment produces 90% of the world’s roughly 13,000 humanoid robots shipped final 12 months, far forward of US rivals, together with Tesla’s Optimus, in response to analysis agency Omdia. Morgan Stanley initiatives that China’s humanoid robotic output will greater than double to twenty-eight,000 models this 12 months.
Even Elon Musk has acknowledged the rising competitors, naming Chinese language corporations as Tesla’s largest challengers because it pivots in direction of embodied AI and humanoid robotics. “The world underestimates China, however they function at an elite, next-level scale,” Musk remarked final month.
