China's World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) opened in Shanghai on the morning of the 19th, and the machines got there first. According to reporting highlighted by Bing News, visitors arriving at the entrance were greeted by a towering red robot roughly 3 meters tall — a transformable machine that set the tone for an expo billed as the world's largest AI event.
Inside, the emphasis was as much on China's homegrown hardware as on the robots themselves. Coverage of the show pointed to domestic AI chips, including a chip "SuperPod," being spotlighted as part of the country's push to build out its own AI supply chain rather than rely on foreign silicon.
The robots did much of the crowd-pleasing. According to WION, humanoid robots "stole the show" at the conference. State news agency Xinhua reported that a robot-dog obstacle challenge was held at the event, putting four-legged machines through their paces in front of attendees.
AI wasn't confined to large machines. According to Tech Xplore, powerful AI-capable smartphones were also among the stars of the show, underscoring how much processing is now being pushed into pocket-size devices.
Taken together, the exhibits reflect a coordinated display of ambition across the stack — from advanced chips and data-center-class hardware down to consumer phones and eye-catching humanoids.
Why it matters: WAIC offers one of the clearest public windows into how fast China is advancing its AI hardware and robotics, and how determined it is to build that capability at home.