China\u2019s robot contests show a decade of advances in a sector Xi Jinping sees as strategically vital<\/p>\n
A man touches a robotic hand displayed at the demonstration area at the office of Linkerbot, in Beijing, China, April 27, 2026. REUTERS <\/p>\n
\u00a0It\u2019s been called the Robot Olympics. But unlike the human Olympics, Team China is collecting almost all the medals.<\/p>\n
Over the past decade, robotic competitions in China have provided a window into the advances of a now-surging sector \u2013 and the importance of its success as a strategic industry singled out by \u200bPresident Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n
Once a curiosity organized by academic teams and hobbyists, China\u2019s robot games have become a national showcase celebrated by state \u200cmedia \u2014 and, increasingly, a proving ground for commercial products from companies looking to show real-world applications beyond the spectacle.<\/p>\n
The five-day World Humanoid Robot Games \u2013 the latest and biggest incarnation of the competition \u2013 began on Saturday in Beijing.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a timeline of how the competitions, and the underlying technology, have developed:<\/p>\n
1999 – 2014: Robotics as college sport<\/strong><\/p>\n Robotics competitions in China started as lower-budget affairs backed \u200bby an industry association and the local government of Fujian. The competitors were mostly college teams. The vibe was more science project than showcase \u200bfor the high-flying companies that emerged later.<\/p>\n In one showcase event, small, wheeled robots played a competitive version of soccer with a \u2060limited range of pre-programmed automation to avoid collisions and find the ball.<\/p>\n 2015: Robotics as the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2015, Beijing hosted the first World Robot Conference, marking the \u200bindustry\u2019s emergence as a national priority. A year earlier, Xi had declared robotics was the \u201ccrown jewel\u201d of advanced manufacturing, according to state media.<\/p>\n At the 2015 exhibition, mobile \u200brobots faced off in badminton demonstrations, tracking shuttlecocks and returning volleys. It was a crowd-pleasing showcase \u2014 but hardly a breakthrough.<\/p>\n Robots like this relied on distance-image sensors developed in the 2010s and an even-older technology for estimating the track of an object pioneered by British defence researchers in the 1990s.<\/p>\n 2023: From the lab to the living room<\/strong><\/p>\n By 2023, the World Robot Conference had \u200bbecome a high-profile venue for established companies to showcase innovation and build buzz.<\/p>\n Along the way attention began to shift to China’s competitive advantage on pricing.<\/p>\n Xiaomi’s robot dog “Cyberdog” \u200bdrew a ring of onlookers filming on smartphones.<\/p>\n The Cyberdog, first released as a hobbyist platform, cost about $1,500 on release. By comparison, Boston Dynamics\u2019 quadruped Spot was selling for over $75,000.<\/p>\n 2025-2026: From \u200cstumbling start \u2060to great leap<\/strong><\/p>\n In April 2025, humanoid robots lined up alongside human runners for the world’s first robot half-marathon in Beijing.<\/p>\n Engineers jogged alongside their machines, ready to intervene. Only a fraction of the robots that started the course finished. Some collapsed on the starting line. Others crashed into the railing just a few metres in.<\/p>\n A year later, the robots were ready. A Unitree H1 robot sprinted unaccompanied down the finishing straight of the second Beijing half-marathon \u2014 no chaperone in sight.<\/p>\n Of the more than \u200b100 robot teams that entered the competition \u200bin 2026, 47 finished, state media \u2060reported.<\/p>\n Most striking: a humanoid robot by Chinese smartphone maker Honor named \u201cFlash\u201d ran the half marathon autonomously in 50 minutes and 26 seconds. That was faster than the human world record set just a month earlier by almost 7 minutes.<\/p>\n Analysts and \u200bexecutives attributed the sharp and widespread improvements to the competitiveness of a growing supply chain bolstered by subsidies and the \u200bfalling cost of \u2060components.<\/p>\n