Now our intrepid China reporter, Caiwei Chen, has recognized a brand new development unfolding inside China’s tech scene: Companies that have been dominant in electrical autos are betting huge on translating that success into growing humanoid robots. I spoke together with her about what she discovered and what it’d imply for Trump’s insurance policies and the remainder of the globe.
James: Before we speak about robots, let’s speak about DeepSeek. The frenzy for the AI mannequin peaked a few weeks in the past. What are you listening to from different Chinese AI firms? How are they reacting?
Caiwei: I feel different Chinese AI firms are scrambling to determine why they haven’t constructed a mannequin as robust as DeepSeek’s, regardless of accessing as a lot funding and sources. DeepSeek’s success has sparked self-reflection on administration kinds and renewed confidence in China’s engineering expertise. There’s additionally robust enthusiasm for constructing numerous functions on high of DeepSeek’s fashions.
Your story seems to be at electric-vehicle makers in China which might be beginning to work on humanoid robots, however I wish to ask a few loopy stat. In China, 53% of autos offered are both electrical or hybrid, in contrast with 8% within the US. What explains that?
Price is a big issue—there are numerous EV manufacturers competing at completely different value factors, making them each reasonably priced and high-quality. Government incentives additionally play an enormous position. In Beijing, for instance, buying and selling in an outdated automobile for an EV will get you 10,000 RMB (about $1,500), and that subsidy was lately doubled. Plus, discovering public charging and battery-swapping infrastructure is far much less of a problem than within the US.
You open your story noting that China’s current New Year Gala, watched by billions of individuals, featured a forged of humanoid robots, dancing and twirling handkerchiefs. We’ve coated how generally humanoid movies will be deceptive. What did you assume?
I might say I used to be comparatively impressed—the robots confirmed good agility and synchronization with the music, although their actions have been easier than human dancers’. The one trick that’s imagined to impress essentially the most is the half the place they twirl the handkerchief with one finger, toss it into the air, after which catch it completely. This is the signature of the Yangko dance, and having carried out it as soon as as a baby, I can attest to how troublesome the trick is even for a human! There was some skepticism on the Chinese web about how this was achieved and whether or not they used extra reinforcement like a magnet or a string to safe the handkerchief, and after watching the clip too many instances, I are likely to agree.