Robots, AI, and innovative drugs — the so-called new ‘New Three’ — have become China's newest foreign trade calling card, with state media highlighting their explosive overseas performance.
In the first half of 2026, China's industrial robot exports jumped 18.6% year-on-year, reaching 141 countries and regions. Surgical robot exports surged 3.3 times. The numbers signal more than industrial upgrading: they mark a solid entry into the global high-end medical market, confirming that Chinese manufacturing has evolved from the labor-intensive old 'New Three' to the technology-intensive new 'New Three’.
AI technology is accelerating integration with hardware, opening up new application scenarios in overseas markets.
As for AI: data from OpenRouter, a global AI model aggregation platform, shows that in the third week of July, China's large models recorded 36.11 trillion tokens in weekly usage, ranking first globally for twelve consecutive weeks.
That report card means China's large models are not only popular domestically but have also secured a leading position in the global AI application market, outpacing competitors for three straight months.
Innovative drugs also broke through. In the first half, China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved 11 innovative drugs with new targets and mechanisms, all independently developed by Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
AI-assisted R&D is shortening the cycle for new drug discovery, speeding up the internationalization of homegrown innovative drugs.
Out-licensing transaction value reached about $110 billion (HK$858 billion), already 80% of last year's total. Chinese companies also claimed eight of the top ten global pharmaceutical transactions. That shows Chinese pharmaceutical companies are no longer 'following' — they've taken the lead in the global innovative drug transaction market.
Global Impact and Open-Source Leadership
Chinese-made cleaning robots are replacing high-altitude 'spider-men' in Australia, cutting the risks of dangerous work. In Brazil, Chinese large models assist local power grids with maintenance and inspection in complex environments.
An innovative drug capsule from Shanghai has also been included in global authoritative treatment guidelines. These concrete cases show that China's new ‘New Three' are not just a slogan — they are genuinely changing daily lives in other countries.
NBC recently cited a Pew Research Center poll released July 15, pointing out that the view of China as a more reliable partner is gaining recognition in many regions. Even the Financial Times reported that international platforms like Pinterest and Airbnb have long used Chinese open-source models to optimize products and iterate services.
France's Libération added that thanks to a complete production system and economies of scale, Chinese innovative drugs often launch at prices far below European and American counterparts. After some cancer treatments enter the French medical insurance system, each patient can save tens of thousands of euros annually.
Some Western countries, in contrast, have been building walls and barriers to contain China's tech rise. But China is doubling down on an open-source ecosystem, giving small and medium-sized enterprises and developing countries worldwide access to top-tier computing power at rock-bottom costs.
Global downloads of Chinese open-source large models have surpassed 10 billion. And on July 28, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization was officially established in Shanghai, hailed as a milestone in AI
Western Dependence and Expert Endorsements
A Morgan Stanley report put it bluntly: Without China, the supply-chain cost for Tesla's Optimus Gen 2 humanoid robot would multiply several times over. That's a stinging rebuke to the West — even Elon Musk's own robot project can't escape China's supply chain.
Industrial robots are now widely used in automated sorting and logistics, boosting supply chain efficiency
Wang Xiaosong, a professor at Renmin University's School of Economics, argues that China's manufacturing upgrade rests on a complete, constantly evolving industrial system, sustained R&D spending, and a super-sized market.
It's the fruit of hard work and open collaboration. Over the past five years, China's R&D spending has grown 10% annually, ranking second globally.
Retired Pakistani Air Force Colonel Sultan Hali, a China expert, recently argued that Chinese-style modernization shows tech innovation isn't just a national engine — it can also fuel global development through open cooperation.
That's, to some extent, a direct rebuttal to the 'China threat theory': China brings opportunity, not impact; empowerment, not threats.
Mao Paishou
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