For the second time in a year, Unitree Robotics caused a stir on social media recently with videos of its humanoid robot’s acrobatic accomplishments. This time around, the G1 robot completed a standing side flip and a kung fu move known as a carp jump — both more complicated than the standing front flip that the startup’s H1 model performed last year. The H1 also appeared on state broadcaster CCTV’s Lunar New Year Gala this year, while Unitree’s founder Wang Xingxing took part in a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that included such tech heavyweights as Alibaba founder Jack Ma. All this recent publicity underscores the excitement gathering around humanoid robots as Beijing positions the sector as a new growth engine in the vein of electric vehicles. China’s robotics industry has been rapidly evolving and is now in the midst of a full-fledged boom. According to data company Qichacha, more than 190,000 robotics-related companies were registered last year, with an additional 44,000 registered since the start of this year. Robot China, an industry website, reports that in 2024, humanoid robots led the sector’s funding, accounting for half of major investments, defined as those around 100 million yuan ($13.7 million) each.

Full opinion : Can China repeat its EV success in humanoid robots?