BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday

Backed by Alibaba, ByteDance, Xiaomi, and Meituan, X Square is already moving toward real-world testing. The company said it plans to deploy Wall-B systems in everyday homes within 35 days, an aggressive timeline that reflects growing pressure to demonstrate real utility.

China’s Hefei metro is testing robot dogs, drones, and humanoids to inspect trains, patrol platforms, and assist passengers during busy travel periods.

Chinese startups are churning out more humanoid robots than their U.S. rivals, despite far lower valuations.

Ukraine has already employed robots in multiple roles across its armed forces - from seaborne and airborne drones, to CASEVAC and logistics vehicles - and now wants to deploy 25,0

Humanoid robots are being trained to carry out maintenance on China’s power grid. Developers say the machines could eventually handle repetitive and hazardous work.

People watch a robot dance performance in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, April 19, 2026. A robot dance performance was staged here to welcome the 9th Digital China Summit, which will convene in Fuzhou from April 29 to 30. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)

Every week, we recap highlights of the news from China. This edition covers some notable tech developments and the China-Taiwan relationship.