Chinese robots are being used to move parts in electric-vehicle factories and to carry out search-and-rescue operations in disaster zones. They are delighting audiences by performing complex dance routines. And robot dogs with automatic rifles attached to their backs are even being tested by the People’s Liberation Army. These are all applications of humanoid and canine robots manufactured by Unitree Robotics, the Hangzhou-based company that has become the poster child for China’s cutting-edge robot industry — a key technological priority for the Chinese Communist Party. Like DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial-intelligence start-up that released a wildly popular chatbot this year, Unitree exemplifies Beijing’s efforts to dominate the technologies of the future — from AI and quantum computing to electric vehicles and robots — and unseat the United States. “They are almost the symbol of China’s ability to operate at the cutting edge of robotics,” said Kyle Chan, an expert on Chinese industrial policy at Princeton University. “They’ve become kind of like the DeepSeek of the robotics world for China.”

Full analysis : Beijing is promoting China’s robotics sector as part of its drive to own the technologies of the future. It is fast closing the gap with the United States.