China advances humanoid robotics with groundbreaking big factory establishment: CPPCC member

China has taken a major step forward in humanoid robotics with the establishment of a "big factory" for the design and assembly of the humanoid robots, said a national political advisor on Tuesday.

Qiao Hong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and also director of National Key Laboratory of Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Systems, made the statement during a group interview before the third session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

China's robotics technology has rapidly developed, significantly narrowing the gap with international advanced levels, with installation of industrial robots having accounted for more than half of the global total in the past three years, Qiao said.

Humanoid robots, shaped like humans or human-like, have numerous degrees of freedom, allowing them to directly use human's tools. This means they could potentially replace human beings in various tasks in sectors of industry, agriculture and service. It is highly possible for them to affect human being's production methods and lifestyle in the near future.

"Notably, we have built a 'big factory' for the design and assembly of the humanoid robots as a core technological foundation. This foundation uses intelligent algorithms to address hardware limitations, integrating brain-inspired intelligence, neuroscience, and AI technologies to form a strong barrier. The versatile factory can rapidly produce low-cost, high-performance robotic systems to serve our country's industrial and agricultural sectors," said Qiao.

Qiao also shared her thoughts on the further development of the robotic systems and the key challenges for scientists and entrepreneurs in this regard.

"Our robotic systems will be deployed on larger, more significant national platforms. These platforms must consider not only the scalability of the systems but also their reliability, stability, versatility, intelligence, and most importantly, safety. This is not only a market demand but also a shared dream and challenge for our scientists and entrepreneurs. Correspondingly, integrating the generalization of artificial intelligence, the stability and reliability of automation, the systematization of robotics, and advanced technologies like brain-inspired intelligent materials has become a shared dream and common challenge for scientists and entrepreneurs in this field," said Qiao.

China advances humanoid robotics with groundbreaking big factory establishment: CPPCC member

U.S. consumer sentiment fell 6 percent in March to its lowest level in three months, as rising gas prices and volatile financial markets, driven by the Iran conflict, weighed on households, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday.

The index dropped to 53.3 in March from 56.6 in February, below last March's reading of 57.0. The decline continues a slide since January and raises concerns about household spending, a key driver of U.S. growth.

The Current Economic Conditions Index slipped to 55.8, down from 56.6 in February and well below 63.8 a year earlier. The Index of Consumer Expectations fell to 51.7, compared with 56.6 in February and 52.6 last March.

The survey found that year-ahead gas price expectations surged about fivefold from February, reaching their highest level since June 2022. Expectations for personal finances fell 10 percent, with 47 percent of respondents saying rising prices are placing a heavy burden on their household budgets.

Short-term economic outlook expectations plunged 14 percent, and 61 percent of consumers now expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead, up from 58 percent last month. Year-ahead inflation expectations climbed from 3.4 percent in February to 3.8 percent in March, the largest one-month increase since April 2025.

Although long-term expectations saw only modest declines, survey director Joanne Hsu cautioned that "these views could shift if the Iran conflict becomes protracted or if higher energy prices feed broader inflation."

On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes in the days that followed. The conflict has rattled global energy markets, fueling concerns about supply disruptions and higher oil prices.

Economists said sustained energy shocks could deepen inflationary pressures and further erode consumer confidence.

US consumer sentiment falls to three-month low amid gas price surge, market volatility