Reference News Network, February 26 report: On February 22, the Spanish website "Confidencial" published an article by journalist M. McCracklin from Shanghai and Suzhou, titled "The Yangtze River Delta Leading China's Latest Technological Breakthroughs: 'They Are Winning This Race'", as translated below:

A year ago, the robot performance at the Chinese Spring Festival Gala was almost universally judged in Silicon Valley gossip circles: the gap between China's robot technology and that of established companies like Boston Dynamics was simply astronomical.

One year later, the story has completely reversed, leaving the world astonished. Perhaps you also saw that viral video, where instead of clumsy robot "dance groups," there were robot formations from Chinese companies such as UE Tech, Galaxy General, Songyan Power, and Magic Atom. Each of them moves decisively and efficiently. The handkerchief has become a sword, and jumping and bouncing have turned into real kung fu.

This scene confirmed a long-standing intuition that had been circulating in professional forums and research departments around the world: China not only closed the gap but also took the lead in a technology field with disruptive potential. Humanoid robots are expected to redefine complex tasks and supply chains, reshaping the global labor market.

It is expected that this gap will only widen further in the coming year. UE Tech, which made its debut at the Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala, expects its shipments this year to reach up to 20,000 units. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is estimated that by 2035, the global humanoid robot market will reach $38 billion, and by 2050, it will soar to $5 trillion.

To understand how China achieved this breakthrough, head to the Yangtze River Delta region. This is where China's latest technological breakthroughs are born, following a similar model to the successful development of China's electric vehicles: a complete production and manufacturing chain concentrated here, covering all aspects from rare earth elements and magnets, to components and battery manufacturing required for bionic human body structures.

Analyst Tao Xun (Jeffrey Torsen) said, "For some time now, we have seen that Chinese companies iterate hardware much faster than traditional giants." This expert emphasized that China's manufacturing ecosystem "is hard to surpass." He added, "China has significant economies of scale advantages, which allow it to provide lower prices through robot technology while surpassing competitors in R&D."

This miracle occurring in the Yangtze River Delta is no coincidence. Within a radius of just 200 kilometers, multiple key advantages converge: Shanghai's substantial financial resources and academic strength, while surrounding cities such as Suzhou serve as crucial hubs in the automotive industry, possessing precision machinery manufacturing and assembly capabilities, able to efficiently produce electronic components, sensors, cameras, driver assistance systems, and batteries.

An industry analyst said, "The scale of China's electric vehicle supply chain is vast, and its technology is highly related to the robotics sector." He emphasized that in the face of pressure from Washington and its allies, Beijing has shown strong resilience. In the view of this analyst, China has the advantage of timing, location, and people: "In this field, there is currently no absolute industry leader globally, and China has both advanced manufacturing foundations and now possesses the necessary artificial intelligence capabilities."

Spanish China technology industry expert Claudio F. González focused his attention on Hangzhou. He pointed out that UE Tech and DeepSeek are two of the "Six New Dragons of Hangzhou." "The key to all of this is that this region used to be a major software production area, but it has now shifted to the field of artificial intelligence," said this professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. "This stems from the vigorous development of Shanghai's financial technology industry and the ecosystem built by Alibaba. Also, there are companies like Zhejiang Dahua that specialize in video surveillance. We must not forget that computer vision is crucial for robot technology."

These factors are the key reasons why the Yangtze River Delta has risen as another choice besides Shenzhen. The ripple effects brought by electric vehicles are repeating themselves.

China's leadership in the robotics industry is the result of years of accumulation. González said, "This can only be achieved in China. It is almost unimaginable in the United States, and even more so in Europe."

"Even if they are not leading in all areas right now, they are gradually winning this race," González emphasized. (Translated by Wang Meng)

On November 6, 2025, at the UE Tech booth during the 8th China International Import Expo, a humanoid robot performed a martial arts demonstration. (Xinhua News Agency)

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7611000934394511906/

Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author.