A total of 42 humanoid robots competed the 1,500-meter final of 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Friday.
The games, which opened in the Chinese capital on Thursday and runs until Sunday following the 2025 World Robot Conference, aims to showcase cutting-edge achievements in intelligent decision-making and collaborative movement of humanoid robots.
The 1,500-meter game was held on 400 meter track in the National Speed Skating Oval, the newly-built ice venue for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the 42 participating robots were divided into 11 groups.
For the first time, the competition introduced a penalty rule for lane-crossing, and robots must run on the designated track.
The Unitree H1 robot from Beijing Lingyi Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Unitree Robotics, took the first place with a time of 6 minutes and 34 seconds.
"The robot's dynamic stability and prolonged high frequency during the competition increased demands on the entire hardware, including the control algorithm. We've previously iterated and optimized multiple versions, and we hope to learn a lot from this competition and accumulate more valuable experience," said Liu Jinda, a staff member of Beijing Lingyi Technology.
"I originally thought robots were rather clumsy, but at the arena, I see they are quite agile. Their endurance over a distance of 1,500 meters is beyond my expectations. I saw our robots participating in marathon competitions online before, and each time I see a competition like this, I feel that robotics are making significant strides forward," said Ma Lei, a spectator.
42 robots compete in 1,500m race at 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games
Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.
The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.
Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.
"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.
"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.
"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.
Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.
Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.
"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.
"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.
Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts
