World Humanoid Robot Games opens in Beijing

The 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games kicked off on Thursday in Beijing, showcasing the cutting-edge achievements of humanoid robots in intelligent decision-making and collaborative movement.

The Games will see 280 teams from 16 countries, including the United States, Germany and Italy, compete from Friday to Sunday at the National Speed Skating Oval. Competitors will take part in 26 events, spanning athletic challenges such as running, long jump, free exercises and football, as well as skills-based tasks like moving materials, sorting drugs and cleaning across different scenarios.

Planned and designed by China Media Group (CMG) with an innovative and integrated approach, the "Robot Show" made a stunning debut at the opening ceremony.

The performance, with robots as the protagonists, brought together the wisdom and efforts of multiple CMG departments. Upholding the concept of "Ideas + Art + Technology", it skillfully blended elements of outstanding traditional Chinese culture — such as opera and martial arts — with robotics technology. Through programs like human–robot dances and robot fashion shows, it fully showcased breakthroughs and innovations in humanoid robots' dynamic balance, motion coordination, and rhythm perception.

The opening ceremony also featured the flag presentation for the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games and the parade of participating teams.

"This Humanoid Robot Games can be described as a grand event for the global robotics community. It features the largest number of participating robots, the most comprehensive range of events, and the broadest level of participation ever. Our goal in hosting the Humanoid Robot Games is to further test and challenge the technological limits of humanoid robots, identify breakthroughs in technological innovation, accelerate the evolution of humanoid robots, so as to form such new productive forces at an early date," said Jiang Guangzhi, director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

The sports event follows the 2025 World Robot Conference, which opened on August 8 under the theme of "Making Robots Smarter, Making Embodied Agents More Intelligent".

The death toll in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has risen to 71,441 since the conflict between Hamas and Israel erupted on Oct 7, 2023, with the number of injuries reaching 171,329, said Gaza's health authorities on Thursday.

In the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza received two bodies, according to the health authorities.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on Oct 11, 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 451 people and wounded 1,251 others in the Gaza Strip.