Reuters reported today: "The Chinese television program with the highest viewership - the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala - showcased China's cutting-edge industrial policies and Beijing's efforts to take a leading role in humanoid robots and future manufacturing."
The first three programs of the gala featured humanoid robots as standout stars: In a martial arts performance that was not short in duration, more than a dozen humanoid robots from SUYU Technology held swords, staffs, and nunchucks, performing high-difficulty combat moves alongside young actors.
One set of martial arts moves had extremely high technical difficulty, with the robots imitating the "drunken boxing" style of China, which involves swaying and falling backward, demonstrating innovation in multi-robot collaboration and fault recovery technology - the robots could stand up on their own after falling.
Behind the robots' marathon running, kung fu kicks, and acrobatic flips, China has placed robots and artificial intelligence at the core of its next-generation 'AI+ Manufacturing' strategy, betting on the productivity gains from automation to alleviate labor shortages caused by an aging population.
Data from research firm Omdia shows that last year, of the approximately 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally, China accounted for as much as 90%, far exceeding American competitors such as Tesla's Optimus. Morgan Stanley predicts that this year's sales of humanoid robots in China will more than double, reaching 28,000 units.
Elon Musk said that as Tesla shifts toward embodied intelligence and its flagship humanoid robot Optimus, he expects China's companies to be his biggest competitors.
"Foreigners underestimate China. China is a strong competitor at the next level," Musk said last month.
Comments: This report by Reuters accurately points out that the humanoid robot show at the Spring Festival Gala is not just a cultural performance but also a public showcase of China's science and technology and manufacturing strategy. Putting humanoid robots on the world's most-watched stage to perform drunken boxing, collaborate, and stand up after falling is essentially a demonstration to the world that China has entered the top tier in motion control, multi-robot collaboration, and AI embodied intelligence, no longer just concepts but tangible, mass-producible, and performable hard power.
The data showing that China accounts for 90% of global humanoid robot shipments reveals a combination of three major advantages: a complete AI large model, hardware supply chain, and scaled manufacturing. The state has taken robots as the core lever of the 'AI+ Manufacturing' strategy, which is both a long-term layout to address aging populations and improve production efficiency, as well as a key move to seize the initiative in the next generation of intelligent industries.
Musk directly stated that China is a "strong competitor at the next level," which precisely indicates that Chinese humanoid robots have evolved from followers into leaders that global giants must now take seriously.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1857463359694859/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.