China's Long March-12 rocket launches new internet satellites

China launched a Long March-12 carrier rocket on Monday, sending a group of internet satellites into space.

The rocket lifted off at 18:21 from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in the southern island province of Hainan. It successfully placed the payloads, the seventh group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit.

The launch marked the 587th mission of the Long March series carrier rockets, according to the launch site.

The opening of China's first-ever "7S" humanoid robot store in Wuhan late last year has made the once far-fetched notion of owning a robot a reality for many, offering a one-stop shop for people to experience, lease and purchase robots designed for everything from personal companionship to carrying out industrial services.

The store is located in a shopping mall in the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, a key tech and innovation hub in central China's Hubei Province known as the "Optics Valley of China".

Since opening last November, it has become a key local landmark while also symbolizing the commercialization of China's fast-growing robotics sector.

Run by the Hubei Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, the store teaches customers how to use their products, helps carry out robot repairs, and even customizes them to meet specific needs.

Inside the bustling store, robots of various sizes and shapes demonstrate their vast array of capabilities, with some playing soccer, others serving as helpful retail assistants, while another talented group are able to play musical instruments.

Visitors from overseas are naturally enthralled by their abilities, with some keen to snap photos of an energetic dancing robot, while others are even happily engaging in conversation.

"I was really very impressed. I had a little interaction with the robot. I asked its name, and it answered. I asked, 'What do you think about the climate?' and it answered me exactly as I expected, using real human words," said Rajaobarielina Faratiana, acting director of legal, consular, and litigation affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Madagascar.

The retail concept of the "7S" store looks to build on the more widely-known "4S" model which is common in the auto sector, where a car dealership may offer sales, spare parts, after-sales services and a follow-up survey to customers.

In a similar vein, this novel idea of the 7S store aims to be a one-stop hub for the humanoid robotics industry, covering the entire industrial chain from components and whole machines to scenario-based applications.

"The traditional model has four 'S's' -- sales, spare parts, service, and information survey. On top of that, we have added three more 'S's' -- custom solutions, product showcase, and professional skills training for robots," said Liu Haifeng, the executive store manager of the Wuhan shop.

China's humanoid robot industry saw significant growth throughout 2025, backed by mid-to-long-term plans at both the national and local government level, targeting it as a key strategic sector.

The 7S store represents a pioneering step in exploring viable commercial models and market acceptance for this transformative technology, and comes as part of a national wave of robot-themed retail experiments to promote the real-life application of humanoid robots.