Chinese Big Tech firms from Huawei Technologies’ spin-off Honor to Alibaba Group Holding are moving to the forefront of the country’s robotics push as Beijing seeks to spur growth in the sector. Honor, which separated from Huawei in 2020 to focus on smartphones and wearables and only expanded into robotics last year, emerged as the surprise gold medal winner at the second Beijing humanoid half-marathon on Sunday, besting the country’s robotics darlings from Unitree to X-Humanoid. Its Lightning humanoid model crossed the finish line in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, eclipsing the human world record of 57:20 set by Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo.

Full report : From marathon-winning humanoids to potential robot guide dogs, tech firms showcase breakthroughs as Beijing backs robotics as growth driver.