China has announced plans to begin mass production of humanoid robots by 2025, marking a strategic initiative that could reshape the global robotics and artificial intelligence arena. The move signals China’s ambition to become a dominant player in this advanced technology sector.
China is taking a significant step forward in robotics by taking the lead in the development of humanoid robots. This ambitious venture is expected to not only provide a major boost to China’s economy, but also have a significant impact on the global advanced technology market.
With hundreds of thousands of humanoid robots ready to work in the near future, China’s vision includes the widespread integration of these robots into various sectors. The market for human-like robots is estimated to reach a global value of $150 billion annually within 15 years. According to projections, robots could become a natural part of the factory workforce between 2025 and 2028, and expand to a wide range of occupations between 2030 and 2035.
– China’s robot production covers many different fields of work. However, the quality of these robots is not that high yet, but it is steadily improving, robotics researcher Henrik Iskov Christensen, a professor of robotics at the University of California, told Swedish popular science magazine Illustrerad vetenskap (Science illustrated).
Technology race
These accelerating developments in robotics have spurred global competitors into action. The US and EU have stepped up efforts to avoid falling behind in the technology race, as evidenced by restrictions and new projects to promote the development of their own robotic technologies.
US-based companies such as Agility and Tesla, as well as Hanson Robotics, are among the players that have introduced their own versions of humanoid robots. These initiatives, along with university projects, underscore the growing trend of robotics research and development worldwide.
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For the first time in 66 years, the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea gathered in Beijing.
The extensive military parade marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with over 100 new domestically produced weapons systems – including nuclear missiles, hypersonic weapons and unmanned vehicles.
China conducted its second-ever military parade on Wednesday to mark Victory Day – 80 years after the end of World War II. The massive display at Tiananmen Square in Beijing became a demonstration of power where Chinese President Xi Jinping received 26 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The parade, witnessed by 50,000 spectators and 10,000 participating soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army, Navy and Air Force, marked the first time in 66 years that the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea gathered in Beijing. The last time this occurred was in 1959, during perhaps the most tense period of the Cold War.
Dressed in a gray Mao suit, Xi Jinping spoke from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. He focused on China’s victory over “Japanese aggression” in what he called the “global anti-fascist war”, but chose not to mention the United States by name despite the country’s decisive role in the war’s final stages.
— Humanity is again faced with a choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games, Xi declared and continued:
— The Chinese people will stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human progress, adhere to the path of peaceful development, and join hands with the rest of the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
Photo: Kremlin/CC BY 4.0
Nuclear arsenal in focus
Al Jazeera correspondent Katrina Yu emphasized the historical significance of the speech from Beijing:
— It really is difficult to understate how much of this is a part of the national psyche, the psyche of the Communist Party that, in the previous 100 years, China was repressed, invaded and humiliated by foreign forces.
Over 100 types of domestically produced weapons rolled along Chang’an Avenue. Particular attention was given to the new nuclear-capable missiles. For the first time, submarine-based JL-3 missiles were also displayed, whose extended range theoretically allows the entire US mainland to be reached from the South China Sea without submarines needing to advance into the Pacific Ocean.
The new intercontinental ballistic missile DF-61 also made its debut. It is estimated to be over 20 meters long with a range exceeding 12,000 kilometers. Additionally, the DF-5C was presented, which may have a range over 20,000 kilometers, carry ten nuclear warheads and reach speeds over Mach 10.
The hypersonic missile YJ-21, called the “carrier killer”, was also presented. The weapon is said to be able to strike aircraft carriers at Mach 10 – ten times the speed of sound – at a distance of 2,000 kilometers.
Trump’s sarcastic reaction
US President Donald Trump reacted to the parade with a sarcastic post on Truth Social:
“The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader”, he wrote and continued:
“Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory… May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America”.
Photo: screenshot/Trump/Truth Social
The Kremlin later commented on Trump’s statement and briefly explained that “no one even had this in their thoughts”.
New warfare technology presented
During the parade, China showcased its investment in modern warfare technology. Unmanned surface vessels (USV), underwater drones and unmanned aerial vehicles were presented alongside the new LY-1 laser system for shooting down drones and missiles. According to China, the new HQ-29 air defense system can defend against hypersonic missiles – a claim that has yet to be verified.
“For Xi, the point is to reinforce the impression that the People’s Republic of China has arrived as a great power under his leadership. Another is the array of leaders at the parade, which suggests that the PRC cannot be isolated, and is unafraid of pressure and bullying, particularly from the United States”, comments Ian Chong, political scientist at the National University of Singapore.
Above the parade, the air force conducted flyovers with helicopters carrying banners with messages such as “Justice will prevail”, “Peace will prevail” and “The people will win”.
US deploys missile systems
China declared that all of the more than 100 weapon types displayed were domestically produced. Despite the Chinese economy slowing down, the country’s defense spending has increased by more than 7 percent for four consecutive years and now amounts to approximately 4.2 times Japan’s defense budget. The military balance in the region has thus shifted markedly and China is gaining increasingly greater military influence.
Unmanned watercraft on display. Photo: Xinhua
Parallel to this development, the US and Japan are conducting extensive military exercises together. The US Army will for the first time deploy its medium-range missile system Typhon in Japan during the Resolute Dragon 25 exercise taking place September 11-25. Typhon can launch both Tomahawk and SM-6 missiles from land.
In July, the US placed two new weapons systems at its base in Okinawa: the MADIS air defense system and the NMESIS robot system that can combat ships. Both systems will also be used on Ishigaki Island during the Japanese-American exercise and military activities in the region are expected to intensify in coming years.
Modi abstained
Military parades on Victory Day are a relatively new phenomenon under Xi Jinping’s era – the first was held in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary, and this year’s parade was thus only the second of its kind.
Despite friendly meetings with Xi Jinping and Putin during the SCO summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to leave China before the military parade.
According to analysts, this was partly to avoid offending Japan, but also to signal that New Delhi certainly has strategic alternatives to the US but simultaneously remains concerned about maintaining its Western partnerships and cooperation.
All peace-loving peoples share a responsibility to defend the postwar international order and build a community with a shared future for humanity, writes China's Ambassador to Sweden, Cui Aimin.
This is an opinion piece. The author is responsible for the views expressed in the article.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Eighty years ago, the forces of justice around the world united in courageous battles against their common foes, defeated the overbearing fascist powers, and won the great victory recorded in history. Eighty years later today, the international landscape is fraught with turbulence and transformation, global challenges keep emerging, and the world is standing at a crossroads where choices must be made. We must look back on history to illuminate the present and look toward the future, and draw wisdom and strength from the hard lessons of the Second World War and from the great victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. We must build on past achievements, refute false narratives to set the record straight, cherish peace, pursue common development, and work together to build a better future for humanity.
We should firmly uphold a correct historical perspective on WWII and protect the historical truth. History may fade with time, but historical memory must never be erased. The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War represent the decisive battle between justice and evil, light and darkness, and the forces for progress and the reactionary. Japanese militarists burned, killed, and plundered on Chinese soil, committed the horrific Nanjing Massacre, waged appalling biological and chemical warfare, and conducted “human experimentation.” These heinous atrocities were a brutal trampling on life and human rights, and a grave challenge to human civilization. Under the banner of the Chinese united front against Japanese aggression, which was advocated and established by the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people launched a relentless struggle and held ground in the principal theater in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War after making immense sacrifices of over 35 million military and civilian casualties and economic losses amounting to hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars.
They defeated the brutal Japanese militarists, and carved out an immortal epic of heroic resistance and ultimate victory against Japanese aggression. Eighty years after the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, there are still a few people who ignore the clear historical facts that countless innocent lives were lost during the wars, and repeatedly attempt to deny or glorify the history of aggression, arousing strong condemnation among all peace-loving peoples of the world, including the Chinese people. History cannot be rewritten, and facts cannot be denied. Any attempt to distort the historical truth of WWII, to whitewash the history of aggression and crimes, to overturn the verdict on militarism, or to turn back the wheel of history will never be accepted by the Chinese people, nor by the people across the world.
We should resolutely uphold the postwar international order and jointly meet the challenges of the times. History is the best textbook and the best remedy. The history of WWII is not only a record of the past, but also has a profound impact on contemporary international relations and on the postwar international order. The U.N.-centered international system is the embodiment of the victorious outcome of WWII. It has underpinned global stability and prosperity, ensured overall peace, and propelled the progress of human civilization. At present, the world faces various challenges. Unilateralism and power politics are severely impacting the U.N. and the multilateral system.
Certain countries are aggressively putting their own interests first, practicing power politics, bullying others, and attempting to replace multilateralism with unilateralism and to substitute the postwar international order with so-called rules of their own making. The painful lessons of WWII remain vivid. Hegemonism and the law of the jungle, where might makes right, must never be allowed to return. All peace-loving people of the world must remember the history written with blood and sacrifice, firmly defend the victorious outcome of WWII, uphold true multilateralism, defend the authority and sanctity of the U.N., uphold the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, jointly oppose hegemonism, power politics and bullying, promote greater democracy in international relations, and defend international fairness and justice.
We should build a community with a shared future for humanity and create a brighter future. History cannot be changed, but the future can be shaped. Facing the important question of “what kind of world we need and how to build such a world”, President Xi Jinping has put forward the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity as well as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. They provide China’s wisdom and solutions from multiple dimensions for meeting global changes and addressing the challenges confronting humanity, and respond to the universal aspiration of all peoples for peace, development and cooperation. They set clearer goals and chart a brighter course for humanity’s future, demonstrate China’s sense of responsibility as a major country through concrete actions, and are widely recognized and supported by the international community.
No matter how the international landscape evolves, China will stay committed to the path of peaceful development and the mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, and will remain a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of international order and a provider of public goods. China will continue to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and work with other countries to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security, and shared prosperity. In advancing the great cause of building a community with a shared future for humanity, countries must draw lessons from history and stand together in solidarity. We need to replace confrontation with cooperation, prevent lose-lose situations through win-win solutions, actively promote friendly cooperation, firmly resist the Cold-War mentality and zero-sum games, and strive to advance world peace and security and the common progress of humanity.
The smoke of WWII has long cleared, but the warning bells of history will always ring. We must follow the logic of history and keep pace with the trend of the times. China will walk hand in hand with countries around the world to uphold what is right, safeguard global stability, deepen win-win cooperation, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, thereby passing on the torch of peace and development from generation to generation.
Many local Chinese authorities, such as Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, have already introduced their own child allowances to encourage childbearing.
China is implementing its largest-ever initiative to increase the country’s declining birth rate by offering all parents national child allowances. Each child under three years old entitles parents to approximately €500 annually in state support.
The Chinese government presented a comprehensive reform on Monday where parents will annually receive about $500 per child under three years old, equivalent to approximately €500. The decision comes as a direct response to the country’s serious demographic crisis where the population has declined for three consecutive years, reports AFP according to France 24.
According to UN population projections, China risks seeing its population drop from today’s 1.4 billion inhabitants to 800 million by 2100. Last year, only 9.54 million children were born in the country – half as many as in 2016, the year when the controversial one-child policy was abolished after more than three decades.
“This is a major nationwide policy aimed at improving public wellbeing”, reported the state television channel CCTV. The support applies retroactively from January 1 this year and is based on a decision from the ruling Communist Party and the State Council.
Parents welcome initiative but want more
In Beijing, parents have received the news positively, but many believe significantly more is needed for them to consider having more children.
— For young couples who just got married and already have a baby, it might actually encourage them to consider having a second child, says Wang Xue, who is mother to a nine-year-old son.
— The subsidy does help ease their burdens… and also offers some psychological comfort, Wang continues.
The 36-year-old mother emphasizes, however, that the new measures are not enough to convince her to have another child.
— Having one child is manageable, but if I had two, I might feel a bit of financial pressure, she says.
Zhang Wei, a 34-year-old father of a daughter and a son, calls the new allowances “a good start” as the costs of raising children continue to rise.
— Compared to our generation, the costs have definitely increased exponentially, he notes.
Analysts: Right direction but insufficient
Economic experts believe the allowances are a step in the right direction but warn that the measures alone will not reverse population decline or stimulate domestic consumption.
— It is encouraging that the government finally moved to use fiscal subsidies to boost fertility, says Zhiwei Zhang, CEO and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, describes the policy as a “major milestone” regarding direct payments to households and believes it could lay the foundation for more tax transfers in the future. He notes, however, that the amounts are too small to have “any short-term impact on birth rates or consumption.”
Local initiatives already in place
Many local authorities have already introduced their own child allowances to encourage childbearing. In March, Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, began offering residents up to 100,000 yuan (€12,000) per newborn child for couples with three or more children. First and second children entitle parents to 10,000 and 50,000 yuan in allowances respectively.
In Shenyang, in northeastern Liaoning province, families who have a third child receive 500 yuan per month until the child turns three. More than 20 provincial authorities now offer various forms of child allowances according to official statistics.
Prime Minister Li Qiang promised to provide national child allowances during the government’s annual work report in March.
Aging population creates concern
China’s shrinking population is also aging rapidly, raising concerns about the country’s future pension system. In 2024, there were nearly 310 million inhabitants who were 60 years or older.
The country also lost its position as the world’s most populous nation to India in 2023, after the population decreased by 1.39 million last year. Low marriage rates and young couples’ concerns about high child-rearing costs and career impact contribute to the continued decline in the number of births.
The Bund's historic waterfront promenade in Shanghai — once the heart of international trade and finance in Asia — still bears witness today to the city's unique role as China's open port to the world and center for global business exchange along the bustling waters of the Huangpu River.
The world’s second-largest economy grew by 5.2 percent in the second quarter and is on track to meet this year’s growth target. Exports and investments are driving growth while domestic demand remains weak.
China’s economy grew by 5.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, which was slightly better than the 5.1 percent that economists had predicted. The growth means the country is on track to meet its full-year target of around 5 percent, despite ongoing trade tensions with the United States, reports Financial Times.
Exports sustain growth
The results show how China has managed to keep its economy on track through strong exports and investments, even though demand in the domestic market is weak. Industrial production increased by 6.8 percent in June, significantly more than analysts’ forecast of 5.7 percent.
– Manufacturing and high-tech industries are leading industrial growth, with standout gains in, for example, robotics, new energy vehicles and equipment, says Yuhan Zhang, chief economist at The Conference Board’s China Center.
Retail sales, however, grew only 4.8 percent in June, which was lower than expected and a decline from the previous month’s 6.5 percent.
Challenges ahead
Economists warn that the second half of the year could be more challenging. Shuang Ding, chief economist for China at Standard Chartered, points out that first-half growth has benefited from companies rushing to export ahead of potential US tariffs.
– Higher tariffs will take a toll on China’s exports, says Ding.
The real estate sector continues to drag down growth, with new housing prices falling 3.7 percent compared to the previous year. Economists are also concerned that overproduction combined with weak demand is driving deflationary pressure.
– China is likely to need more policy stimulus as well as structural reform measures in the second half of 2025 to bolster the economy’s performance and make growth more balanced, says Eswar Prasad, economics professor at Cornell University.
