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Robotics
As China bets on tech and innovation to drive its growth, it has placed its chips on several industrial sectors that are expected to play increasingly important roles in development and trade, which will bring fresh opportunities and challenges for stakeholders. SCMP’s China Future Tech is your go-to destination for the latest news, insights, and opinions on these select industries. Explore in-depth coverage of EVs, AI, semiconductors, aerospace, robotics and biomedicine sectors. Follow us to stay ahead in China's evolving competitive landscape.
A Dreame 10s Ultra robot vacuum cleaner. Photo: Dreame
China technology

Chinese robot vacuum maker Dreame gives staff gifts of gold, trip to Antarctica

Dreame’s surprise largesse reflects its robust business growth in 2025, as it remains one of the world’s top robot vacuum cleaner brands.

3D printing

How a Chinese start-up is scaling 3D printing from sneakers to robots

Unitree Robotics

Editorial | Keep humans in mind as China races ahead in robotics

DJI

Untapped global demand to drive next phase of robotic vacuum growth: Dreame

Europe is Dreame’s largest market for robotic vacuum cleaners, with more than half of its revenue there generated by premium products.

A visitor looks at an intelligent cleaning robot displayed at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, September 12, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Robotics: Companies

Tech giants go prime time in the fight for China’s biggest audience

ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba are in talks over Spring Festival Gala sponsorship packages, as AI rivalry becomes a fight for ad real estate.

China stock market

UBTech’s US$237 million Fenglong deal tightens humanoid robot supply chain

Hong Kong-listed UBTech is buying a 43 per cent stake in Zhejiang Fenglong, as China’s robotics firms increasingly eye A-share acquisitions.

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Artificial intelligence

China’s AI toy boom: Huawei, JD.com, UBTech make big push into growing sector

China’s AI toy sector is forecast to expand to US$12 billion by 2030, up from US$3.5 billion this year.

Huawei Technologies’ Smart Hanhan marks the latest foray by Chinese Big Tech companies into the growing global AI toy market. Photo: Huawei
Mainland China

China’s AgiBot aims for US$142 million revenue as humanoid robots gain momentum

Fast-growing robotics start-up expects to ship out 5,000 units in 2025 amid Beijing backing of the embodied intelligence industry.

US-China trade war

Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies.

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China's military weapons

‘Saturation attacks’: drone swarms key for wartime victory, PLA Daily says

Concentrated UAV swarms seen to allow ‘optimal combat effectiveness with minimal battlefield expenditure’.

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Concentrated drone formations in wartime are capable of “forcing the enemy into a state of exhaustion and passive defence”, PLA Daily article says. Photo: Shutterstock
China technology

Chinese team smashes robot rival as sparks fly at Abu Dhabi showdown

Deep-Sea Shark 3, built by China’s Fierce Roc team, kicks some bot at the Battle of the Robots at Abu Dhabi’s Games of the Future.

Chinese team Fierce Roc was crowned champion of Battle of the Robots at the Games of the Future Abu Dhabi 2025. Phoo: Handout
Science

Chinese researchers show how a word could let spies take control of a robot army

Demonstration at cybersecurity event highlights a flaw that could turn one robot into a ‘Trojan horse’ that can seize control of others.

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Unitree Robotics

Unitree G1 humanoids go viral with synchronised frontflip and Musk endorsement

China continues to dominate in humanoid robotics, and its lead over the US is accelerating, according to a recent Morgan Stanley report.

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Japan

Japan announces US$6 billion support for home-grown AI development

A new company will be established by around 10 firms including SoftBank Group Corp, aiming to develop the country’s largest base AI model.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son attends an event to pitch AI for businesses in Tokyo on February 3. Photo: Reuters
China technology

Building a humanoid robot without China? Then you better bring a bigger wallet

China has issued five times the number of patents related to humanoid robots than the US, says Morgan Stanley.

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A technician teaches a humanoid robot to use a wrench to tighten a bolt at a data collection pre-training center for humanoid robots in Hefei, east China’s Anhui Province. Photo: Xinhua
China technology

China’s humanoid arms race: start-ups debut robots for stores, offices and factories

China’s latest venture-backed robotics contenders are unveiling ever more humanlike machines for reception desks, stores and factory floors.

China economy

Opinion | Protection of vulnerable workers must be part of China’s AI strategy

Unemployment and underemployment are a double whammy that the Chinese leadership cannot ignore.

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Video | Even China’s small factories are turning to robot workers

As large manufacturers turn to fully automatic “dark factories,” smaller operators are adding robots to supplement human labour.

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Artificial intelligence

SenseTime pushes open-source AI model to provide a ‘smart brain’ for every robot

The Chinese AI pioneer also releases first robot dogs under new venture Ace Robotics.

CATL

CATL marks trailblazing deployment of humanoid robots at scale in China plant

The initiative underscores the growing use of intelligent Chinese-made robots in the country’s manufacturing industry.

China technology

China cements global lead in smart vacuums as Picea acquires Roomba maker iRobot

Last month, Picea subsidiary Santrum bought about US$191 million of iRobot’s outstanding debt from the investment firm Carlyle Group.

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Roomba robot vacuums for sale in a store in Miami, Florida, December 15, 2025. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Artificial intelligence

Xiaomi launches open-source model to compete against DeepSeek, OpenAI systems

MiMo-V2-Flash ‘particularly excels in reasoning, coding and agentic scenarios’, Xiaomi says.

Xiaomi’s open-source AI model, MiMo-V2-Flash, is available on the company’s developer site MiMo Studio, Hugging Face and the API Platform. Photo: Shutterstock
China technology

Video | Humanoid robots take centre stage at Shanghai summit

Competitions mainly focused on robotic applications in industrial assembly, home services, flower arranging, healthcare and elderly care, as well as restaurant services.

Artificial intelligence

Chinese expert calls for world models and safety standards for embodied AI

Turing Award winner Andrew Yao says embodied AI needs reasoning, planning and control in one framework.

United States

China’s AI sector poised for growth despite US restrictions: venture capitalist

China’s AI sector gains confidence with DeepSeek’s emergence, but tech ecosystem needs to improve, GSR United Capital’s Zhou Qi says.

China and the US are the two top players in global AI development, with the former leading in humanoid robotics and open-source large language models, according to a venture capitalist. Photo: Reuters
Science

How China’s US$150,000 robot start-up beat Elon Musk in 2 years

EngineAI robot delivers forceful Bruce Lee-style kicks, while Musk’s Optimus jogs a few steps and falls over while handing out water bottle.

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EngineAI Robotics’ humanoid T800 is capable of delivering Bruce Lee-style roundhouse kicks with great force. Photo: Handout
Made in China 2025

China’s Unitree teases platform allowing users to control robots via smartphones

Hangzhou robotics unicorn’s platform is designed to bring embodied intelligence into everyday life.

Unitree Robotics

Why Japan’s robotic pioneers are ceding the humanoid stage to China and the US

Japan’s university system has long centred on engineering faculties led by manufacturing, resulting in a relative shortage of AI talent.

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