Figure Robotics’ F02 humanoid robot featuring a high-degree-of-freedom dexterous hand.Illustration: humanoid robot dexterous-hand durability concerns. (Source: Sohu IT) China’s humanoid robots are being tested by reality, and reality is winning. A manager at one robotics firm, whom we will call Wang Hao, told Chinese business outlet Yicai that the dexterous hand his company sources from … Read more
In the midst of a global humanoid robot boom, a sobering reminder of how hard the robotics business actually is: Vicarious Surgical, a US surgical robot startup that raised $300 million from investors including Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, has filed for bankruptcy. Founded in 2014 by two MIT graduates, Vicarious set out to build … Read more
Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, has achieved what no Chinese entrepreneur has done in eight years: appear on the cover of TIME Magazine. The cover, published July 23, features Wang alongside Unitree’s mech product GD01 under the headline “The Robot Age Is Here.” The last time a Chinese business leader appeared on … Read more
Humanoid robots can dance, backflip, and run marathons. What they cannot do, it turns out, is find enough paying customers. A growing number of analysts are asking an uncomfortable question about the humanoid robot boom: who is actually buying these machines? The answer, according to a detailed analysis published on Chinese tech media Sohu IT, … Read more
When Japanese technicians cracked open a Unitree G1 humanoid robot, they found a reason to give up. Nikkei xTECH, a Japanese technology media outlet, published a teardown video of Unitree’s G1 on July 23. The verdict, as reported by CCTV News, was blunt: China’s humanoid robot technology has clearly moved beyond the “show-and-tell” stage, and … Read more
Trump, the Nation Builder: How an Accidental Architect Built the Nation of Engineers As Air Force One touches down in a self-assured Beijing this May 14th, 2026, a curious moniker echoes across the Chinese internet: Chuan Jianguo (川建国)—or “Trump, the Nation Builder”. It is a title born of exquisite geopolitical irony. To the Chinese public, … Read more
The Robot Belt Weekly: China’s Top 10 Tech Stories May 3–10, 2026 | The Intelligence Briefing from Shenzhen #1 DeepSeek’s \$45B Gambit: China’s AI Crown Jewel Finally Opens Its Doors Source: TechCrunch | TechNode | The Silicon Review DeepSeek is reportedly shifting from its “maverick” roots to a mainstream powerhouse, eyeing a staggering $45 billion … Read more
The AI Dove of East Asia Make love(AI), not war. 🕊️ Did you know that in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, the pronunciation of the word for “love” is “ai”? It is a poetic coincidence that this shared linguistic heritage perfectly mirrors the acronym for Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps this is a sign that AI could be … Read more
Before Xi Jinping became China’s president, his fellow Tsinghua University alumni were certainly successful, but they weren’t exactly the undisputed kings of the billionaire rankings. Recently, however, the narrative has shifted dramatically. A highly concentrated group of nine companies, all originating from Tsinghua’s alumni networks and faculties, have either achieved unicorn status or gone public. … Read more
Top 10 Chinese Tech News Highlights of the Week (20–26 March 2026) 1. Galaxy General’s Humanoid Robot Engages in Unscripted Tennis Rallies Sector: Humanoid Robots Key Facts: Beijing-based Galaxy General Robot demonstrated its humanoid robot playing real-time, multi-round tennis rallies with a human. Powered by its proprietary “LATENT” algorithm, the robot learns motion logic from … Read more