China's robotics industry achieves vigorous growth

China's robotics industry has experienced vigorous growth since the beginning of 2025, marked by groundbreaking technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrading at an accelerating pace.

Since the beginning of this year, various regions have begun testing practical application scenarios to drive continuous innovation in robotics technology.

Data shows that there are currently over 50 application scenarios across the country in various subfields.

"We can now observe a demonstration of China's overall sci-tech strength across various scenarios. There have been significant improvements in the stability and flexibility of robots," said Yao Qizhi, dean of Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences and the School of Artificial Intelligence under Tsinghua University.

Not just humanoid robots, but the entire robotics industry in the country has significantly accelerated its development during the period.

A futuristic "innovation corridor," a 10-kilometer stretch teeming with cutting-edge robotics, tech startups, and top-tier research talent located in south China's Shenzhen City, has showcased embodied AI in practical use.

Known in the industry as "Robot Valley," this area has quickly evolved into a thriving ecosystem for embodied intelligence and robotics innovation.

In Shenzhen's "Robot Valley," upstream companies supplying tactile sensors are just a street away from the complete machine manufacturers, while the simulation data from 3D vision companies can be input in real time into the training systems of nearby large model enterprises. The synergy of the industrial chain continues to improve.

In the first six months, the production of industrial robots and service robots in China increased by 35.6 percent and 25.5 percent year on year, respectively.

As of now, there are over 930,000 robot-related enterprises in the country. Among them, more than 100,000 new relevant enterprises were established in this sector during the first half of the year, representing an approximate 45 percent increase over the same period of 2024.

China's robotics industry achieves vigorous growth

The prices of some life-saving medicines have soared to levels that are unaffordable for ordinary people in Venezuela, as the United States has ramped up military presence in the Caribbean off Venezuela's coast, alongside escalating sanctions, blockades and military threats against the oil-rich South American nation since late August.

At a northeastern suburb in the capital city Caracas, locals can still purchase most of the commonly used medicines at a major supermarket, where some antibiotics have been sold out, and some first-aid medicines and supplies have become too costly for ordinary residents.

"I'm here mainly to buy antibiotics. I have problems with my lungs. But I can't get all I want, such as vancomycin," said a resident named Alfonso.

"(Recent tensions have affected) the supplies and prices of drugs. The prices of cancer drugs, insulin drugs and albumin are very high, and most patients here cannot afford them," said Giovanna Gonzalez, a pharmacist with the supermarket.

Around 90 percent of the raw materials for drugs in Venezuela rely on imports, and the country's medical equipment such as monitors and anesthesia machines are almost entirely dependent on overseas supplies.

Main international airlines suspended flights to and from Venezuela in November, and U.S. blockades have delayed many cargo ships for a month, with some refusing to dock in Venezuela for safety concerns.

"Venezuela has been caught in the complex humanitarian emergency declared by the World Health Organization for about 10 years. If the suspension of flights persists, relevant international companies will have to choose more difficult or longer transportation routes, which will further push up the already high prices of medicines and medical equipment in Venezuela, and the patients will pay more money," said Huniades Urbina-Medina, president of the National Academy of Medicine of Venezuela.

Venezuela's medicine prices soar to unaffordable level amid US blockades