China pools efforts to fuel development of embodied AI robotics

BEIJING -- China is stepping up cooperation between its central and local governments to foster the development of embodied artificial intelligence (AI) robotics, as part of its efforts to propel the rise of new quality productive forces.

On Thursday, the Beijing Embodied Artificial Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center, or HUMANOID, was upgraded to China's National and Local Co-built Embodied Artificial Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center, meaning it will receive support from both Beijing and the central government in R&D and other fields of embodied AI robotics, which is represented by humanoid robots.

HUMANOID was established in November 2023 in Beijing E-Town, an economic and technological development area in the southeast of the capital city. It is China's first innovation center focusing on core technologies, product development and application ecosystems for embodied AI robots.

The center, which has already rolled out two humanoid robot products, said it will promote the establishment of industry standards, further reduce R&D costs for enterprises, expand application scenarios, and expedite the debuts of related products, among other tasks.

Joint efforts will be made to develop the new center in a bid to accelerate innovation related to underlying technologies and key common technologies, expedite the transformation and application of sci-tech achievements, and promote the intelligent transformation and upgrading of key industries, Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology, said at a seminar associated with the unveiling of the center.

China aims to establish a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, according to a guideline from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. By 2027, the country will have a secure, reliable industrial and supply chain system, and related products will be deeply integrated into the real economy.

Since the beginning of this year, manufacturing provinces such as Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui and Sichuan have caught up with national development by establishing innovation centers featuring industry-university-research-application integration. In May, a co-built national and local humanoid robotics innovation center was established in Shanghai.