Two robots play the piano at the twenty eighth China Beijing International High-tech Expo on May 8, 2026, drawing crowds of holiday makers. Photo: VCG
Visitors eagerly leaned ahead to expertise the C919 simulator cockpit, danced interactively with embodied clever robots, and watched wealthy hand gestures on brain-computer interface screens that illuminate the lives of individuals with disabilities. These vivid scenes seize the ambiance of the twenty eighth China Beijing International High-tech Expo, the place persons are witnessing numerous visions of future life steadily turning into actuality.
The three-day expo, which opened on Friday with the theme “Science and Technology for a Better Future”, introduced collectively greater than 800 home and worldwide enterprises and establishments, showcasing cutting-edge technological achievements and revolutionary utility eventualities centered on “AI+.”
As China’s first large-scale worldwide science and expertise trade and cooperation exhibition targeted on science and expertise, it highlighted the nation’s breakthroughs in exhausting applied sciences throughout varied fields in addition to its delicate innovation capabilities.
Future life eventualities taking form
A Global Times reporter personally skilled a wide range of technological demonstrations on website: clever robots performed soccer with the reporter; by concentrating on on-screen gestures whereas sporting a brain-computer interface headset and sensor gloves, varied remote-control gestures might be carried out in the air; enjoyable with conventional Chinese-style therapeutic massage delivered by robotic arms.
Through these immersive experiences, the reporter clearly felt how high-end applied sciences in fields equivalent to info expertise, drugs and well being, inexperienced low-carbon options, and clever manufacturing are quickly integrating into on a regular basis life and reaching peculiar individuals.
Sergey, a Belarusian working in schooling in East China’s Jiangsu Province, informed the Global Times that he flew to Beijing particularly to attend the expo. “This is the first time I’ve seen an expo with such rich displays of AI technology. It’s dazzling. What impressed me most were the AI+ intelligent education applications. I really hope these can reach Belarus and more countries.”
AI and robotics featured much more prominently at this yr’s expo. Humanoid robots, embodied interplay management techniques, bionic clever robots, and different cutting-edge tools have been prominently displayed.
A towering 6-meter-tall ultra-realistic humanoid robotic made its debut at the expo, presently the world’s tallest and largest humanoid robotic. A robotic that may play music carried out a full of life rendition of Beijing Welcomes You, turning into a preferred picture spot at the exhibition.
The Global Times reporter tried on a wearable exoskeleton robotic and located it remarkably light-weight. It may intelligently acknowledge the consumer’s physique weight, age, joint mobility, and bodily situation in actual time and dynamically modify its working mode accordingly.
“This is literally the future! China is the most technologically advanced country I’ve ever seen,” American vlogger Christian Grossi exclaimed whereas attempting a wearable exoskeleton robotic that assists in strolling and operating throughout a go to final September to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Central China’s Hunan Province. The video of his first-hand account has since garnered over 10 million views as of early December final yr.
The exoskeleton Grossi wore exactly embodies the future China is striving to construct – one during which expertise empowers individuals’s lives, bringing hope and higher dwelling experiences to extra people.
Yang Yongtao, deputy normal supervisor of the wearable exoskeleton system exhibitor firm China Beijing Ai Robot Technology Co, Ltd, informed the Global Times that the rising worldwide consideration on Chinese exoskeleton robots has introduced extra focus to the expertise. Foreign consumers have particularly come to customise merchandise.
In the future, they’re anticipated to turn out to be an necessary route for AI-enabled well being and wellness functions — serving to aged individuals with each day mobility help whereas additionally decreasing the bodily burden and fatigue for mountaineering fans, thereby supporting the “Healthy China” initiative, Yang mentioned.
Accessible for extra individuals
The expo additionally gathered prime home analysis institutes and sci-tech innovation organizations, showcasing a batch of worldwide pioneering, independently controllable key core applied sciences.
Beijing AIForce Technology Co, Ltd, established with help from the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was a standout at the occasion. Its show of the world’s first pure-electric clever high-horsepower tractor attracted vital consideration, with overseas guests stopping to inquire about particulars.
An Zhijian, strategic director of the firm, informed the Global Times that core applied sciences for high-horsepower tractors had lengthy been monopolized by corporations in Europe and America. Over the previous two years, leveraging China’s strategic structure in the new power trade and its full industrial chain benefits, the firm has not solely efficiently utilized new power applied sciences to agricultural improvement but additionally overcome a number of vital technical bottlenecks that had lengthy been managed by others.
The firm is presently in talks with a number of Global South nations concerning exports. In the future, this pure-electric agricultural equipment is predicted to considerably cut back manufacturing and working prices for farmers, in response to An.
In response to latest hyping of the “China Shock 2.0” narrative by some Western media shops and suppose tanks, which recommend that that China is reaching quick improvement in high-tech sectors and depends on overseas markets to soak up its overcapacity, thus sending extra critical shock waves to the world financial system, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian mentioned on Friday that from the world’s manufacturing unit to the world’s market and innovation powerhouse, China’s improvement is achieved by way of sturdy efficiency pushed by innovation and brings tangible cooperation alternatives and area to the world.
China’s high-tech merchandise represented by the “new new three” of robots, AI and revolutionary medication have damaged high-tech obstacles and monopoly and enabled individuals in additional international locations to entry reasonably priced new applied sciences, Lin added.
“What really creates “shocks” to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development,” Lin mentioned.
The energetic participation of overseas enterprises at this yr’s expo additionally confirms that China’s open and inclusive perspective is attracting extra worldwide cooperation. Companies from international locations together with South Korea, Sweden, and the US are showcasing their cutting-edge displays at the expo.
Swedish firm Envac’s pneumatic waste assortment system, which may cut back highway assortment car journeys by 90 %, is planning to ascertain its China headquarters to actively combine into the “Beautiful China” initiative. Multinational corporations equivalent to AstraZeneca and Sanofi displayed revolutionary medication in areas together with oncology, respiratory well being, cardiovascular ailments, and uncommon ailments. The Seoul Pavilion, promoted by the Seoul municipal authorities, featured merchandise in AI+ schooling and sensible healthcare from Korean universities and enterprises.
Jaehyun Lee, the supervisor in control of the Seoul Pavilion, informed the Global Times that they’re filled with confidence and expectations for China-Korea high-tech sharing and exchanges. They additionally hope to make use of this chance to showcase Korea’s “Smart Life” philosophy to extra Chinese audiences.
Technology-themed exhibitions are considered necessary home windows for observing the implementation of latest high quality productive forces. From the Beijing Auto Show and the Digital China Summit to the upcoming Global AI Terminal Expo 2026 & seventh Shenzhen International AI Expo, the latest cluster of tech exhibitions not solely demonstrates the scale and industrialization of China’s scientific and technological innovation, but additionally displays China’s dedication to utilizing expertise for good and its open and inclusive spirit, analysts mentioned.