Beijing to open world's first "4S store" for embodied AI robots

China's capital is set to launch the world's first "4S store" dedicated to embodied artificial intelligence (AI) robots, marking the latest push to commercialize advanced robotics in the country.

The facility, unveiled on Wednesday at a press conference, is scheduled to open in a robotics industrial park in Yizhuang, located in southern Beijing, during the 2025 World Robot Conference, which is set for August 8-12.

Similar to traditional automobile 4S models, known as "sales, service, spare parts and surveys", the store will provide services on robotics sales, maintenance, parts and information.

According to the press conference, the robot 4S store will feature an area for scenario-based demonstrations and immersive interactions, offering customers a hands-on experience with the product capabilities in real-life settings.

Meanwhile, the facility will boast a nationwide rapid-response parts supply network and a professional support team for robot maintenance, assembly and repair.

Industry enthusiasm is already mounting. So far, more than 100 supply chain enterprises in the robotics industry have expressed clear intentions to settle in, including 30 companies specializing in humanoid robots. Ten leading embodied AI robot firms, including the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, UBTECH and Galaxea, have signed cooperation agreements with the robot 4S store and are expected to be among the first batch of partners to move in.

Liang Liang, deputy director of Yizhuang's administrative committee, said that the establishment of the world's first 4S store for embodied AI robots marks a key step in building a vibrant robotics industry ecosystem in Yizhuang, which paves the way for the rapid development of robotics firms and enhances the area's global influence as a robotics hub.

Yizhuang, home to over 300 robotics and smart manufacturing enterprises, is a key cluster in Beijing's robotics sector. The area hosts the permanent site of the World Robot Conference and boasts an industry chain valued at over 10 billion yuan (approximately 1.39 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for half of Beijing's total robotics industry.

Adding to its growing list of global firsts, Yizhuang earlier this year hosted the world's first humanoid robot half-marathon, drawing 20 robotics teams from universities, research institutes and tech companies to join human athletes in a race covering 21.0975 kilometers.

Tiangong Ultra, developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, claimed victory in the humanoid half marathon, crossing the finish line first with a time of two hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds.

Liang noted that Yizhuang is fast emerging as a cradle for the future of the robotics industry and a vital hub linking to the global market.

Beijing to open world's first "4S store" for embodied AI robots

China's expanding ties with the Global South have pushed trade growth far beyond the global average despite the tariff pressure from the U.S., according to experts.

"Whilst the Trump tariffs ultimately led to a significant drop-off in Chinese exports to the United States and vice versa, the trading relationships across much of the rest of the world continue to grow, and China's trading relationships across the Belt and Road Initiative countries, as well as with the Global South, more broadly speaking, has grown at rates far greater than global trade growth as a whole. And we see that evidenced by the latest data. When we break that down, we see that has been underpinned by the developments in high-technology products in particular, whether it's EVs, whether it's even in semiconductors, as well as photovoltaic panels, etc.," said Dr. Warwick Powell, an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology, in a TV interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Thursday.

"And you've got to look at the places where the growth is taking place. Africa, I think, is a very interesting case in point, because the kinds of things that China has been exporting and expanding in terms of its exports are all about African economic development -- its machinery, its energy systems, its technology, and this really goes to delivering on China's broader strategic ambition as an emerging great power to be an enabling great power, supporting the development of its partners around the world," he added.

Qian Jun, executive dean of International School of Finance at Fudan University, attributed the trade growth to Chinese firms' endeavor to tap into key regions like ASEAN, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

"The main increase of export comes from, as we have discussed, these new areas: The ASEAN economy -- southeast Asia remains the most important trading partner -- and also Latin America, the Middle East, and these [other such] new regions. So, the exporters of the Chinese companies are also very good at adjusting their destinies, their strategies, how to market their goods and services, so that the reliance on the U.S., for example, has gone down a lot," Qian said.

China's trade momentum increasingly powered by Global South: experts