Robots Shine at China's Spring Festival Gala
Tuesday, 2026/02/17252 words4 minutes146 reads
China's premier humanoid robotics companies seized the spotlight at this year's Spring Festival Gala, the annual variety spectacle staged by state broadcaster CCTV that offers an unparalleled nationwide marketing platform comparable to the US Super Bowl. The prominence of robotics firms underscores the industry's central role in Beijing's industrial policy.
Four robotics companies—Hangzhou-based Unitree, Wuxi-based Magiclab, Beijing-based Galbot and Noetix—secured partnerships valued at approximately 100 million yuan ($14 million). The performances demonstrated remarkable technological advancement, with Unitree's humanoids executing martial arts routines including backflips and trampoline leaps alongside child performers. These displays showcased the progress of humanoid technology in China, though entertainment remains the primary outlet before these machines realize their longer-term potential as efficient industrial workers.
Simultaneously, a fierce rivalry unfolded among China's technology giants. ByteDance's Volcano Engine obtained an exclusive AI cloud partnership, displacing last year's sponsor Alibaba Cloud, as demand for computing power surges. ByteDance leveraged the occasion to showcase its full-stack AI capabilities, unveiling its Seedance 2.0 video-generation model and distributing over 100,000 tech products through its Doubao app promotion. This gesture directly confronts Tencent's Yuanbao and Alibaba's Qwen AI apps, which deployed giveaways worth 1 billion and 3 billion yuan respectively, transforming the ancient tradition of lucky money into a battleground for AI supremacy.
Despite the gala attracting nearly 80 percent of active televisions, it has struggled to maintain relevance among younger demographics less accustomed to live programming, prompting CCTV to partner with digital platforms including RedNote, Bilibili, Kuaishou and Douyin to expand distribution and drive engagement.
