China’s annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala — the country’s most-watched television event — this week doubled as a high-profile exhibition of Beijing’s industrial strategy, spotlighting humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence as pillars of its next manufacturing phase.
Often described as a cultural touchstone comparable in reach to the U.S. Super Bowl, the Lunar New Year broadcast drew 79% of live TV viewership in China last year. This year’s programme placed humanoid robots at the center of its opening segments, underscoring how closely state messaging and emerging industries are aligned.
Four robotics startups — Unitree Robotics, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab — showcased their products in multiple sketches.
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More than a dozen Unitree humanoids performed choreographed martial arts sequences using swords, poles, and nunchucks alongside child performers. One technically ambitious routine replicated the unstable footwork and backward falls of “drunken boxing,” demonstrating advances in dynamic balance, real-time motion planning, and fault recovery — the ability of robots to regain posture after collapse.
Four Noetix humanoids appeared in a comedic skit, while MagicLab robots performed synchronized choreography during the patriotic song “We Are Made in China.” The programme’s opening sketch also featured Alibaba’s AI chatbot Doubao, reinforcing the convergence of generative AI software and embodied robotic systems.
From Spectacle to State Strategy
The gala has long served as a platform to signal technological priorities — from China’s space programme to drones and high-speed rail. What distinguishes this year’s robotics-heavy programming is the maturity of the policy ecosystem behind it.
President Xi Jinping has elevated robotics to a strategic sector. Over the past year, Xi has met five robotics startup founders — a level of engagement comparable to his meetings with electric vehicle and semiconductor entrepreneurs. Weeks after last year’s gala, Unitree’s founder attended a high-profile technology symposium chaired by Xi, the first such gathering since 2018.
Analysts say visibility on the gala stage often translates into practical benefits. Companies featured prominently can gain accelerated access to procurement contracts, investor attention, and regulatory support. The pipeline from industrial policy to national broadcast is unusually direct.
The heightened exposure comes as leading humanoid firms, including AgiBot and Unitree, prepare for initial public offerings. The Lunar New Year holiday has also become a strategic launch window for domestic AI companies unveiling new frontier models, aligning media attention, capital markets activity, and state endorsement.
Research firm Omdia estimates that China accounted for roughly 90% of the approximately 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally last year. Morgan Stanley projects that the figure will more than double to 28,000 units this year.
By comparison, U.S. efforts such as Tesla’s Optimus humanoid platform remain in earlier commercialization stages. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has acknowledged the competitive landscape, saying last month that Chinese firms are likely to be his strongest rivals as Tesla pivots toward embodied AI.
China’s humanoid push is rooted in long-term economic considerations. The country faces demographic pressure from an ageing workforce and slowing labor force growth. Policymakers view automation as a mechanism to preserve productivity and sustain industrial output.
Humanoid robots occupy a symbolic and functional position within Beijing’s “AI+ manufacturing” strategy. Unlike specialized industrial arms, humanoids are designed to operate in environments built for humans — warehouses, factories, logistics hubs, and eventually service sectors — allowing them to slot into existing infrastructure without major redesign.
Beijing-based analyst Poe Zhao said humanoids consolidate several Chinese advantages: AI model development, hardware supply chain control, and mass manufacturing capability. The country dominates production of key robotics components, including motors, sensors, and batteries, giving domestic firms cost advantages and scaling flexibility.
Technological Inflection Point
The martial arts demonstrations on national television were not merely theatrical. They highlighted specific technical advances:
- Multi-robot coordination in tightly choreographed environments.
- Real-time balance control during high-speed movements.
- Recovery mechanisms enabling robots to stand up after falls.
- Integration of perception systems capable of operating safely around human performers.
Such capabilities are prerequisites for commercial deployment in dynamic settings. As embodied AI systems evolve, their ability to operate safely and reliably in mixed human environments will determine market viability.
The integration of Alibaba’s Doubao chatbot into the broadcast further emphasized software-hardware convergence. As large language models mature, pairing them with robotic bodies creates pathways for autonomous task execution across manufacturing, logistics, and services.
China’s visibility campaign signals more than domestic confidence. It positions the country as a serious contender in embodied AI, a domain many analysts believe will define the next phase of technological competition.
The U.S. has traditionally led in foundational AI research, while China has leveraged manufacturing scale and supply chain integration. In humanoids, those comparative strengths converge: intelligence layers built on AI models combined with precision hardware mass production.
The spectacle of robots performing kung-fu on national television serves a dual purpose — cultivating public acceptance and signaling to global markets that commercialization is accelerating.
Attention as Strategic Capital
“In an early market, attention becomes a resource,” Zhao said. Early dominance in narrative, funding, and regulatory support can shape standards, ecosystems, and investor flows.
China’s approach blends industrial policy, capital markets mobilization, and cultural endorsement. Beijing reinforces humanoids as both a technological frontier and a national project by embedding robotics in a broadcast that reaches hundreds of millions of viewers.
As shipments scale and IPOs advance, the question will shift from demonstration to deployment: how quickly can humanoid systems transition from choreographed performances to economically productive roles across factories and service industries?
The Spring Festival Gala’s robotics showcase suggests that China intends to move rapidly on that transition — leveraging visibility, state coordination, and manufacturing depth to anchor humanoid robotics at the core of its next industrial cycle.