BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday

The Pentagon awarded a $24 million contract to test heavy-duty humanoid robots designed to breach enemy sites and strengthen U.S. military readiness.

Backed by Alibaba, ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Meituan, X Square is already moving toward real-world testing. The company said it plans to deploy Wall-B systems in everyday homes within 35 days, an aggressive timeline that reflects growing pressure to demonstrate real utility.

China’s Hefei metro is testing robot dogs, drones, and humanoids to inspect trains, patrol platforms, and assist passengers during busy travel periods.

China's grid operators plan to purchase thousands of robots in 2026 alone, including devices to inspect and maintain vital infrastructure China's industrial giants are rapidly scaling up the use of AI-powered robots to operate vital infrastructure,

Chinese startups are churning out more humanoid robots than their U.S. rivals, despite far lower valuations.

China is keen to stake its position both as an early adopter and leader in humanoid robots. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

On Tuesday, AgiBot, a Shanghai-based embodied AI company, broadcast live from the intelligent manufacturing center of Longcheer, a leading smart device designer and manufacturer, in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province.