China's Top Planner: Humanoid Robots Have Come a Long Way, More Investment Coming

At a press conference on May 22, Li Chao, spokesperson for China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said humanoid robots have made big improvements compared to last year. In the recent half-marathon for humanoid robots in Beijing's Yizhuang area, robots ran faster, moved more flexibly, and navigated more independently. This is thanks to better motors, smarter balance control, and improved navigation tech.

Li noted the number of teams grew from over 20 last year to more than 100 this year, and finishers jumped from 6 to over 40. These results show China's growing innovation in embodied AI and the expanding industry.

Going forward, the NDRC will focus on building infrastructure for embodied AI training and application testing, as part of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The goal is to make robots smarter in different settings—not just for races, but for factories, shops, and homes—so the technology can be used more widely.