Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, delivers speech at CES 2025. Photo: VCG

At the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025) in Las Vegas, multiple humanoid robots developed by Chinese companies came under the spotlight amid global AI craze, highlighting China's front-runner position in cutting-edge technology innovation.

NIVIDA CEO Jensen Huang announced at the CES 2025 that a batch of leading robotics and automotive companies, including six Chinese companies - ROBOTERA, Agibot, Fourier, Galbot, Unitree and XPENG - to first adopt its latest AI platform Cosmos. 

Cosmos is aimed to advance the development of physical AI systems such as autonomous vehicles and robots, according to NVIDIA's websites. 

The humanoid robot 'Iron,' developed by Chinese automaker XPENG, debuted in November 2024, and has been deployed in XPENG's auto assembly plant in South China's Guangzhou Province. The cooperation with NIVIDIA's Cosmos platform will further accelerate the company's development of humanoid robots, according to a statement sent from XPENG to the Global Times on Thursday. 

Aside from ROBOTERA's humanoid robot "Star 1", the Chinese company also exhibited its XHand at the CES 2025 -- a human-like robotic hand designed for object manipulation, which can be installed on embodied robots. 

The debut of ROBOTERA on CES demonstrates the company's technological and product innovation strength in the field of embodied intelligence, as well as serving as proof of the company's global vision and market potential, said the company on its social media account. 

Galbot said in a social media post that under the collaboration with NVIDIA, both parties are making progress in areas like simulation and synthetic data, with a shared commitment to advancing embodied large-model robots for practical applications.

Chinese humanoid robot companies' increasing exposure at global industrial shows highlights the significant progress in China's humanoid robot making, driven by robust policy support and investments, Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Information and Communication Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Thursday.

At the beginning of 2025, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission and Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park on Monday released a draft action plan to develop local embodied intelligence technology, emphasizing intelligent, efficient, and large-scale applications for embodied intelligent robots.

By 2027, Beijing will cultivate no less than 50 core enterprises in the upstream and downstream of the embodied intelligent robot industrial chain, develop no less than 50 mass-produced products, achieve no less than 100 large-scale industry application projects, and be the first to exceed a total production scale of 10,000 units, the draft action plan revealed.

"China boasts strong advantages in robotics development, including high demand, a robust manufacturing base, and a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem. With scaled applications, the industry is enhancing its competitiveness, refining its supply chain, and forming industrial clusters.," Liu Gang, chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation AI Development Strategies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Pan pointed out that China's humanoid robot industry has reached a globally leading level in terms of application scenarios, market penetration, and the scale of the industrial and supply chains, adding collaborations with foreign companies could resolve computing power challenges and accelerate technological innovations.