China walks the talk on humanoid robots

People gather around and watch a humanoid robot write calligraphy during the 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing on Aug 22. [Photo for China Daily]

Xiong said that leading Western countries have witnessed industry giants with deep pockets dominating the robotic landscape, whereas China is characterized by a proliferation of small to medium-sized enterprises striving to navigate the competitive terrain of humanoid robots.

He also said that the rise of AI large language models, exemplified by technologies like ChatGPT, has been a game-changer in the robotics industry.

Traditionally, robots were limited to executing pre-programmed commands and struggled with understanding natural language. However, the integration of advanced AI models has unlocked new capabilities, allowing robots to comprehend and act on human language instructions — ushering in what is broadly referred to as embodied intelligence, he said.

Marina Bill, president of the International Federation of Robotics, said at a conference that about 60,000 industrial robots were installed in China 10 years ago, and their number has gone up to 290,000 now.

"Hardly any other country in the world has had that quick a development. China's rapid growth shows the power of its investment so far, but it still has much greater potential in terms of automation," Bill said.