A member of the humanoid robot dancing team which caught the attention of global audiences during the recent Spring Festival Gala with a captivating folk dance performance made a surprise return to the stage on Wednesday during the Lantern Festival Gala.
Hosted by China Media Group (CMG), the gala boasted a star-studded lineup and delivered a high-tech visual-audio feast to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which landed on Wednesday this year.
The gala saw the return of the one of robots who previously starred during the CMG's Spring Festival Gala, which was held on the eve of the Chinese New Year last month.
This time, the robot made an amusing entrance to the stage with one of the show's hosts comically mimicking its walking style.
In a brief interaction, the robot sought to teach the hosts how to perform the party trick of the "handkerchief spin", a signature move in the traditional Yangge dance previously demonstrated by the robot dancers, and one which typically requires great skill and practice for a performer to perfect.
With the gala presenters seemingly unable to execute the complex trick, the robot instead made a funny gesture by appearing to wipe its brow with the handkerchief, indicting it was tired of the human hosts, much to the delight of the audience.
The Lantern Festival, observed on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Feb 12 this year, and marks the conclusion of the country's Spring Festival celebrations, which center around the Chinese New Year.
First broadcast in 1985, this year's Lantern Festival Gala again staged a whole host of entertaining variety performances including energetic song and dances, comedy sketches, as well as traditional operas and magic shows, highlighting China's unique cultural charm.
High-tech dancing robot returns to stage to amuse audiences at Lantern Festival Gala
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
