China opened the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai this week, drawing more than 800 domestic and overseas exhibitors to a record 70,000-square-metre show floor. Organisers said the three-day gathering features over 3,000 exhibits, including 40 large-language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, many making their global or China debut. Humanoid machines dominated the exhibition. Unitree Robotics staged a boxing match between two bipeds, Tesla displayed its latest Optimus robot, and Chinese start-ups such as UBTech and AgiBot demonstrated factory-ready androids and agile robot dogs. The surge in embodied intelligence marks a sharp expansion from last year, when just 18 robotics firms took part, underscoring Beijing’s push to commercialise humanoid robots across manufacturing and consumer sectors. Beyond the product showcase, policymakers used the forum to set out China’s vision for shared AI development. On 26 July officials unveiled an Action Plan for Global AI Governance and an International Open Source AI Cooperation Initiative aimed at lowering technical barriers and supporting adoption in developing economies. Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton and former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt both warned that no single country can manage advanced AI alone and urged tighter cross-border cooperation. The scale of investment reflects expectations that humanoid machines could become a major growth engine. Citigroup projects the global market may reach US$7 trillion by 2050 as ageing workforces and productivity demands accelerate uptake. With Washington tightening technology export controls, Shanghai’s event offered Beijing a high-profile platform to stress openness and position China as a key contributor to next-generation AI standards and deployment.