Opinion

After solar panels and EVs, is overcapacity coming for China’s robots?

AI robots taking centre stage at the coming Spring Festival Gala – now a national tech showcase – will signal official endorsement and likely trigger herd investment

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Humanoid robots from Chinese company Unitree Robotics are seen backstage at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in Beijing on January 28, 2025. The organisers of this year’s gala have partnered with robotics and embodied intelligence companies, including Unitree, Galbot and MagicLab, for the show. Photo: Xinhua

Dominik Mierzejewski is head of the Centre for Asian Affairs and associate professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz, Poland.

Published: 4:30pm, 11 Feb 2026Updated: 5:05pm, 11 Feb 2026

As we get ready for the Year of the Horse, preparations for the Spring Festival Gala, the most important event on China’s television calendar, are well under way. Most viewers will see choreography, spectacle and national pride – as well as humanoid robots.

Policymakers and markets, however, should see something else: a carefully staged signal of how China’s political economy is positioning for the next cycle of industrial overcapacity – and its global consequences.

The gala has become a national showcase for hard technology. This year, China Media Group is partnering with robotics and embodied intelligence companies, including Unitree Robotics, Galbot and MagicLab. Galbot’s robots have been officially designated as the gala’s embodied large-model robots. Company executives say its robots will go beyond preprogrammed movements to show an awareness of their environment and ability to react.