
Move Over, Humans. China's Robots Are Taking Over
From The Journal. by The Wall Street Journal & Spotify Studios
April 29, 2026 · 20 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the rise of humanoid robots in China and the implications for global AI competition.
In China, humanoid robots are on the rise. Robots with heads and torsos have been spotted staffing the front desk at hotels, working factory floors, and serving lattes. It's all thanks to an investment boom and subsidies from the Chinese government, which is betting on "embodied AI" as the next frontier in a global arms race. WSJ's Yoko Kubota explains how China's robots got so good, and what the US is doing to catch up. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - China and the U.S. Are in a Race for AI Supremacy - The Man Leading Trump’s AI Charge Against China Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Ryan Knutson
Guest: Yoko Kubota
Topics covered
- humanoid robots
- China
- AI technology
- investment boom
- global arms race
- embodied AI
Keywords
- robots
- China
- AI
- investment
- technology
- humanoid
- global competition
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Wall Street Journal, Spotify Studios
Places: China, U.S.
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