BEIJING: China’s industrial robot exports came to 3.16 billion yuan ($463.94 million) in the first quarter of 2026, surging 42% year on year. Exports of all types of robots amounted to 11.32 billion yuan, with sales to 148 countries and regions worldwide.
Cleaning robots stood out as a standout segment. As a newly added tariff code category this year, their export value hit 7.75 billion yuan in the first quarter, accounting for 68.5% of China’s total robot exports. They have become the absolute mainstay driving the global expansion of China’s robotics industry.
The 2026 Beijing E-Town Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, the second edition held on April 19, announced special awards on Saturday, with both enterprises and universities among the winners.
“Lightning” from Honor claimed the championship, completing its run in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, breaking the human world record in half-marathon. However, corporate dominance was not the only highlight, with Beijing Institute of Technology and Shandong University winning the “Best Gait” awards.
Twenty universities participated in the event through direct registration, forming joint laboratories with enterprises, and taking part in training camps, marking 10 times the number of participating universities in the inaugural edition and reflecting the deepening integration of industry, academia and research, according to a press conference organized by the event committee.
The integration is not a novelty, but the result of China’s concerted push. China is stepping up efforts to promote the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent to bolster innovation-driven growth and long-term competitiveness.
The strategy has, for the first time, been elevated to a key objective of economic and social development in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), and was also highlighted as a key task in the 2026 Government Work Report, with an emphasis on coordination alignment in planning, policy, resource allocation and evaluation mechanisms. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
