China’s most-watched TV show, CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala, on Monday showcased the country’s cutting-edge industrial policy and Beijing’s push to master humanoid robots and the future of manufacturing.
Four new 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 show’s first three sketches prominently featured humanoid robots, including a lengthy martial arts demonstration where more than a dozen Unitree humanoids performed sophisticated fighting sequences, waving swords, clubs, and nunchucks in close proximity to human child performers.
Fight sequences included a technically ambitious one that mimicked the staggering movements and backward falls of China’s “drunk boxing” style of martial arts, showcasing innovations in multi-robot coordination and crash recovery, where a robot can get up after falling.
The show’s opening sketch also highlighted Alibaba’s AI chatbot Doubao, while four Noetix humanoid robots appeared alongside human actors in a comedy skit, and MagicLab robots performed a synchronized dance with human performers during the song “We Are Made in China.”
Planned IPOs
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 AI startups launch a host of cutting-edge models during the lucrative nine-day Lunar New Year public holiday.
Last year’s gala surprised viewers with 16 full-sized Unitree humanoids twirling scarves and dancing in unison with human performers.
The Unitree founder met President Xi Jinping weeks later at a high-profile tech symposium, the first of its kind since 2018.
Xi met with five founders of robotics startups last year, comparable to the four electric vehicle and four semiconductor entrepreneurs he met in the same period, giving the nascent sector unusual visibility.
The CCTV program, which attracted 79% of the live television audience in China last year, has been used for decades to highlight Beijing’s technological ambitions, including its space program, drones and robotics, said Georg Stieler, Asia managing director and head of robotics and automation at technology consultancy Stieler.
“What sets the gala apart from comparable events elsewhere is the direct line between industrial policy and prime-time spectacle,” Stieler said.
“Companies that appear on the gala stage receive tangible rewards in the form of government orders, investor attention and market access.”
China’s strengths
Behind the spectacle of robots running marathons and performing kung-fu kicks and backflips, China has put robotics and AI at the center of its next-generation AI+ manufacturing strategy, betting that productivity gains from automation will offset the pressures of its aging workforce.
“Humanoids bundle many of China’s strengths into a single narrative: AI capability, hardware supply chain and manufacturing ambition. They are also the most ‘readable’ form factor for the public and officials,” said Beijing-based technology analyst Poe Zhao.
“In a nascent 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 humanoid sales in China 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 makes Tesla focus on built-in AI and its iconic humanoid Optimus.
“People outside of China underestimate China, but China is a country that kicks ass at the next level,” Musk said last month.
