At the 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, Chinese companies' breakthrough in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) were in the spotlight. The Smart Strategy Science and Technology Development Co showcased its latest all-terrain intelligent vehicle system, powered by AI agents, including land-based vehicles, robotic dogs, medium to large-sized drones, and unmanned boats. “The system provides decision-making support for emergency rescue, reducing operational risks and boosting efficiency,” Zhou Tongyuan, Assistant to the General Manager told the Global Times. The company's vehicles and robotic dogs were displayed at the Light of Internet Expo (WICEXPO), a signature event of the summit. “Robotic dogs can substitute for human workers in hazardous tasks. Additionally, they are equipped with 5G relay stations to enable data transmission from disaster areas, facilitating remote command and control,” said Zhou.
Chinese robotics start-up Noetix Robotics introduced its bionic humanoid robot Xiaonuo at the WICEXPO. “Featuring 32 degrees of freedom in its head for rendering micro-expressions, Xiaonuo can be widely applicable in university research and serve as an interpreter at museums,” Zhang Chengcheng, Senior Business Manager of Noetix Robotics, told the Global Times. Equipped with algorithms for speech and facial recognition powered by AI, the robot enables natural conversations. WICEXPO participants noted that with Chinese AI models leading the global open-source ecosystem, AI terminal products are proliferating, making consumers' “AI+” experiences increasingly tangible. Industry-specific LLMs are driving China's AI into a new development phase, with AI agents as the core force of industrial transformation, they said.
China's AI technologies are applied in diverse scenarios, integrating with manufacturing, services, and other sectors, becoming a major engine for high-quality development. China has become the world's largest holder of AI-related patents, accounting for 60% of the global total, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies. During the summit, representatives of Hangzhou's “Six Little Dragons” – Game Science, DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics, DEEP Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech – provided insights in the country's tech development. Wang Xingxing, Founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, currently a global leader in humanoid robotics, said that AI is fueling accelerated growth across the robotics sector. “The embodied AI field feels like a dream lately – many science fiction scenes are becoming reality, and this pace will only quicken. AI is bringing embodied intelligence closer. Next year or the year after, robotics surprises may outshine this year's,” Wang said, as reported by the Global Times.
