Learning How to Say "Robot" in Chinese

Perhaps you were one of the people who were alarmed when Chinese firm DeepSink released its powerful AI R1 a couple months ago, rivaling U.S. AI efforts but supposedly developed much cheaper and much faster. It was a reminder that, when it comes to AI, China is not to be taken lightly; the battle for AI supremacy is far, far from over.

They're coming. Credit: Unitree Robotics

Well, when it comes to robots – especially AI-powered, humanoid ones -- the battle may be closer to being over…and the U.S. is not winning.

China’s robotics version of DeepSink may be Unitree Robotics. Or UBTech. Or maybe Agibot or Pudu Robotics.  You get the point.

Speaking specifically about Unitree Robotics, Kyle Chan, an expert on Chinese industrial policy at Princeton University, told The Washington Post:  “They are almost the symbol of China’s ability to operate at the cutting edge of robotics. They’ve become kind of like the DeepSeek of the robotics world for China.”

WaPo reports that there are almost half a million smart-robot firms registered in China, with a combined market cap of almost a trillion dollars. Morgan Stanley recently noted that China had 5,688 patents containing the word “humanoid” over the past five years; by comparison, the U.S. had 1,483.

Yeah, they take smart robots seriously in China.  

The Morgan Stanley report commented: “Our research suggests China continues to show the most impressive progress in humanoid robotics where startups are benefitting from established supply chains, local adoption opportunities, and strong degrees of national government support.”

China has to take AI and robotics seriously, not only because they are seen as key technologies of the future but also because it is facing a marked labor shortage. Its labor force peaked in the mid-2010’s, and is forecast to shrink by 20% over the next 25 years. China has plenty of automation and even robots in those factories already, but they’re mostly limited to specific tasks. The AI humanoid robots would allow them to do jobs that only humans can do now.

“You won’t have to retrofit your factory, warehouse or home to accommodate a humanoid—that’s the future promise,” Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), a trade group in Ann Arbor, Mich, told The Wall Street Journal.

It won’t stop just at factories. Ming Hsun Lee, head of Greater China automotive and industrials research at BofA Global Research, told CNBC: ““I think in the short-term, three to four years, we will see humanoid robots initially applied in production lines to compare some workers, and in the midterm, we will see them gradually spread into the service industry.”

Unitech CEO Wang Xingxing  told TMTPost: “Within our lifetime, humanoid robots will be able to revolutionize every industry, from industrial and service sectors to agriculture and manufacturing, On an even grander scale, governments could deploy 100,000 humanoid robots to build an entire city.” Mr. Wang is clear about the reason for the progress: “The reason we’ve progressed so quickly is simple: the rapid advancement of AI technology.”

Similarly, Reyk Knuhtsen, analyst at SemiAnalysis, an independent research and analysis company specializing in semiconductors and AI, told CNBC: “China has the potential to replicate its disruptive impact from the EV industry in the humanoid space. However, this time the disruption could extend far beyond a single industry, potentially transforming the labor force itself.”

 AI and robotics leaders in the U.S. are paying attention – and are worried. “They have more companies developing humanoids and more government support than anyone else. So, right now, they may have an edge,” said Mr. Burnstein in WSJ.

A recent “call to action” from SemiAnalysis was blunt:  

Automation and robotics is currently undergoing a revolution that will enable full-scale automation of all manufacturing and mission-critical industries…The only country that is positioned to capture this level of automation is currently China, and should China achieve it without the US following suit, the production expansion will be granted only to China, posing an existential threat to the US as it is outcompeted in all capacities.

SemiAnalysis notes China has already captured the markets for batteries, solar, and EV, and warns that the economies of scale allowed by robotics “will be exponential compared to their last strategic industry captures.”

WaPo notes how Chinese robotics companies are already driving costs down (again, similar to what they’ve done with batteries, solar, and EVs):

Unitree has built its business model on competitive pricing. The company’s cheapest robot dog goes for $1,600, according to its website, while a humanoid robot costs $16,000. A robot dog from Boston Dynamics, by contrast, goes for around $75,000.

 Liu Gang, a professor at Nankai University in Tianjin who researches China’s innovation economy, explained the strategy to WaPo: “We are picking a path where we lower the costs for innovation and industrialization, When many can do things with a comparable quality, whoever makes it more cheaply will have a bigger chance to win.”

That’s going to make it increasingly harder for the U.S. to compete. And that’s a huge problem. When President Trump and others talk about bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., in large part what they want are all those well paying (human) jobs, but, to use the Wayne Gretsky metaphor, they may be skating to where the puck used to be.

Recently U.S. robotics leaders Agility Robitics, Boston Dynamics, Tesla (think Optimus robots, not Cybertrucks), along with A3, have called for a national strategy for AI-powered robots, much as China has developed (and funded). “The United States is at a critical moment in shaping the future of automation,” said Mr. Burnstein. “While AI is a major focus, we cannot afford to fall behind in robotics.” The strategy includes dedicated federal office to coordinate robotics policy, innovation, and industry collaboration, tax incentives, and funding public-private research partnerships to spur innovation.

According to Jeff Cardenas, co-founder of Austin-based humanoid startup Apptronik: “The next robotics race is powered by AI and is up for grabs.” 

Let’s hope so, anyway. The U.S. is terrible at industrial policy – just ask our steel, shipbuilding, or even chips industries. We still haven’t figured out what we should do about/for AI, other than to hope American ingenuity will save the day.

The U.S. shouldn’t be looking at how to strengthen our oil, gas, or coal industries; we shouldn’t worry so much about gasoline-powered automobiles; we shouldn’t be building multi-million dollar fighters or billion dollar aircraft carriers. Those were all important 20^th century industries/technologies, but, hey, this is the 21st century.

The 21^st century – and the 22^nd – will belong to the countries and industries that best adopt to/innovate in 21^st century technologies. Like AI and robotics.