Brussels: China's humanoid robotics sector is advancing rapidly and gaining an edge in key parts of the embodied artificial intelligence (AI) value chain, industry leaders said at the World AI Conference in Shanghai on Saturday.
According to Anadolu Agency, humanoid robots demonstrated their capabilities on the second day of the conference, climbing tall walls and performing precision welding to showcase their potential for carrying out hazardous tasks, as reported by the English-language Global Times newspaper.
Speaking at a High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, Jiang Lei, chief scientist at the Shanghai-based National and Local Co-Built Humanoid Robotics Innovation Center, stated: "China has already taken the lead in several core areas of embodied intelligence, particularly manufacturing, datasets, and training environments."
Peng Zhihui, co-founder and chief technology officer of humanoid robotics startup AgiBot, noted that only China and the US currently possess the combination of advanced AI models, robot hardware development, and large-scale manufacturing needed to compete in embodied AI.
According to conference speakers, China produced about 20,000 humanoid robots last year. Output surpassed 40,000 units in the first half of this year and is expected to exceed 100,000 for the full year.
More than 30 AgiBot robots are on display across conference venues, including the AGIBOT A3 Ultra, X2 Edu, G2 Max, and OmniHand 3 Ultra-M.
Rejecting concerns from abroad that Chinese open-source AI could be a "trap," Jiang highlighted China's manufacturing capabilities as a global asset, emphasizing that the country is moving from adopting international standards to helping shape them.
Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, expressed Pakistan's interest in cooperating with China on AI. "There is a lot of mutual opportunity because China is, of course, the leader when it comes to not just the hardware but also the software, and Pakistan can truly benefit from this relationship," he said.