Joget, Nyanyi, Sulap robots: Chinese manufacturers steal the Lunar New Year stage

JAKARTA - The Chinese New Year celebrations in China in 2026 are not only filled with fireworks and dragon dances. Humanoid robots take the stage, dancing, singing, and joking, in a performance that is also a showcase of China's robotics industry ambitions in front of the public, investors, and state officials.

In a live performance on Sunday, February 8, Shanghai-based robotics startup Agibot featured a nearly one-hour-long variety show that was entirely driven by robots.

Their humanoid robots dance, perform acrobatics, magic, lip-sync ballads, and perform in comedy sketches. Some of the other robots are seen sitting in the audience area waving their hands, imitating the atmosphere of a human gala.

Around 1.4 million viewers watched the broadcast via the Douyin streaming platform, according to initial estimates. Agibot called the event the "world's first gala entirely driven by robots", although the company has not provided total figures for cross-platform audiences.

The performance was held a week before the Spring Festival Gala broadcast on China's state-run television, CCTV, an annual event that has now turned into a strategic stage for humanoid robot manufacturers to showcase their technological advances. Last year, 16 full-size humanoid robots from Unitree performed alongside human dancers at the 2025 CCTV gala, eliciting the admiration of millions of viewers.

Less than three weeks after the appearance, the founder of Unitree was invited to a high-level symposium led directly by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since then, the Hangzhou-based robotics company has been rumored to be preparing for an initial public offering or IPO.

This year, CCTV confirmed that it would involve four humanoid robot startups in their Chinese New Year gala, namely Unitree, Galbot, Noetix, and MagicLab. For the Chinese robotics industry, appearing on the stage of a national gala is not just entertainment, but a symbol of recognition.

Agibot itself involves more than 200 robots in the split performance. The event was broadcast on various social media platforms, including RedNote, Sina Weibo, TikTok, and China's version of Douyin. Two Mandarin-language television networks, HTTV and iCiTi TV, also broadcast the show.

The AGIBOT team visited the Shaolin Monastery to learn authentic Kung Fu, integrating advanced robotics with traditional martial arts. Humanoid robots trained alongside the monks, demonstrating precise movements and enhanced physical capabilities. The experience aims to explore… pic.twitter.com/HDzQlirvsW

— Light Science 🇦🇷 (@LightSciencXXII) February 7, 2026

"When robots start to understand the Chinese New Year and start to have a sense of humor, human-machine interaction may come sooner than we think," wrote Ma Hongyun, a photographer and writer with 4.8 million followers on Weibo.

Agibot said its humanoid robot is designed for a variety of uses, from education, entertainment, to factories. The company plans to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to an earlier Reuters report.

State-owned media, Securities Times, reported that Agibot chose not to appear at the CCTV gala in order to focus its budget on research and development. The company did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Agibot previously also demonstrated two of his humanoid robots to President Xi during a visit in April 2025, a strong signal of political support for the sector.

Global competition is also heating up. Elon Musk, the American billionaire who is now directing Tesla to artificial intelligence and humanoid robot Optimus, once stated that the only serious competitive threat in the field of robotics comes from Chinese companies.

Like his rival in China, Musk also often uses stage stunts as a promotional tool, including featuring the Optimus robot as a bartender at an event in 2024.

With robots dancing on the Chinese New Year stage and IPOs being talked about, Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers seem serious about turning entertainment into a business strategy. In the midst of the lights and music, the message to be conveyed is quite clear: the future of robots is no longer a lab concept, but a major spectacle.