Ninth China Robot Summit Opens in Hangzhou to Explore 'Robot+' Era
On the morning of September 17, the main forum of the 9th China Robot Summit opened in Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City. The summit is themed "Smart Connection New Ecosystem, Empowering All Scenarios—Intelligence and Quality Transformation in the Robot+ Era." The forum aims to explore the intelligent and qualitative changes in the robot industry as it enters a new era of integration. The event brings together industry leaders, experts, and innovators to discuss the future of robotics.
The event is hosted by the China Electromechanical Integration Technology Application Association, and co-organized by Zhejiang University Robotics Research Institute, the magazine Robotics Technology and Application, Hangzhou Yuhang District Haichuang Humanoid Robot Industry Innovation Center, Leaderobot platform (Robot Lecture Hall), the Embodied Intelligence Branch of the China Electromechanical Integration Technology Application Association, Zhejiang Robotics Industry Development Association, and China Jiliang University. The diverse organizing committee reflects broad collaboration across academia, industry, and research. The collaboration underscores the multidisciplinary nature of the field.
Attendees included Lu Wenge, second-level inspector of Zhejiang Science and Technology Department; Li Mingsong, deputy director of Hangzhou Economic and Information Bureau; Professor Zhu Shiqiang from Zhejiang University; and experts from the National Key R&D Program "Intelligent Robot" special expert group, including Professors Sun Lining, Han Jianda, Duan Xingguang, Chen Diansheng, Li Yibin, and Director Zheng Junqi. Speeches were delivered by Lou Wanzong, member of the Party Leadership Group and deputy director of Zhejiang Economic and Information Department; Han Zhiqiang, deputy director of the Northern Science and Technology Information Research Institute; and Qu Daokui, president of the China Electromechanical Integration Technology Application Association. Their presence underscores the high-level attention the summit receives. The summit serves as a key platform for networking and knowledge exchange.
Participants agreed that the robot industry is accelerating from "technology demonstration" to "scale application," and 2026 has become the first year of mass production for humanoid robots. During the forum, several important achievements were released: the launch of the "China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Promotion Association Healthcare Robot Collaborative Innovation Platform," which brings together universities, research institutes, hospitals, and industry leaders; the launch of the Intelligent Agent Special Competition of the China University Intelligent Robot Creative Competition; the release of the "2026 China Embodied Intelligence Industry Going Global Research Report" in video format, proposing a five-layer framework of "strategic decision-making—product technology—compliance and risk control—market operations—ecosystem leadership" and a four-stage development roadmap; and the official release of the Robot Embodied Intelligence Capability Evaluation Framework, establishing a unified evaluation standard for the industry. These initiatives aim to foster innovation and international expansion. The released reports and frameworks are expected to guide industry development.
In the keynote report session, experts and academicians shared the latest research findings and industry insights on cutting-edge topics such as embodied intelligence empowering intelligent manufacturing, multimodal embodied intelligence from cloud brain to physical world, and the full-chain implementation of perception-decision-control. The discussions highlighted the rapid convergence of AI and robotics. The speakers emphasized the importance of embodied intelligence in advancing manufacturing.
The roundtable discussion was moderated by Dong Kai, director of the Science and Technology Division of the CCID Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Tuo Hua, founder and CEO of Luoshi Robotics; Yu Lei, partner of Star Sea Map; and Cai Zhenhui, founder and CEO of Huarui Zhipu, engaged in an in-depth dialogue on the topic "In the first year of mass production, who is really 'moving bricks'?" The dialogue focused on practical challenges and opportunities in the mass production era. The roundtable provided insights into the real-world applications of robots.
On the afternoon of September 17, the summit featured five thematic sub-forums on bionic robots, healthcare robots, etc., as well as parallel agendas including the third meeting of the Humanoid Robot Testing and Certification Working Group in 2026. These sessions provide platforms for specialized discussions. The parallel sessions cover a wide range of topics.
The summit is expected to gather more than 50 associations and research institutions, over 500 industry experts, and more than 2,000 industry representatives, with over 100 media resources. Thirty-five exhibiting companies cover five major exhibition areas: industrial, service, humanoid robots, key components, and embodied intelligence infrastructure. The large-scale participation demonstrates the growing importance of the robot industry. The exhibition showcases the latest advancements in robotics.