Humanoid robots are stepping into the spotlight in China this Lunar New Year, not as factory tools or lab prototypes, but as entertainers. From livestreamed dance shows to national television galas, robot makers are using the country’s most-watched cultural moment to showcase technical progress, attract capital, and signal alignment with government priorities. What may look like festive spectacle is increasingly a calculated move in China’s fast-evolving robotics industry.

Robots as a New-Year Showcase

In Shanghai, robotics startup Agibot staged what it billed as the world’s first robot-powered gala, livestreaming an hour-long variety show on Douyin. The broadcast featured humanoid robots dancing, performing acrobatics, lip-syncing ballads, and even taking part in comedy sketches, with other robots seated in a mock audience. Around 1.4 million viewers tuned in, highlighting the public’s growing fascination with embodied artificial intelligence.

The timing was deliberate. The event aired just days before China’s annual Spring Festival gala, a cultural institution watched by hundreds of millions and long viewed as an unlikely but powerful platform for technology signaling. By going early, Agibot carved out its own moment while still benefiting from the broader Lunar New Year media buzz.

The CCTV Effect and Political Signaling

The influence of state television is hard to overstate. At the 2025 Spring Festival gala, a group of 16 full-size humanoid robots from Unitree performed alongside human dancers, drawing widespread attention and praise. The exposure had tangible consequences. Less than three weeks later, Unitree’s founder appeared at a high-profile symposium chaired by Xi Jinping, a signal often interpreted by markets as implicit political endorsement.

Since then, Unitree has reportedly been preparing for a potential initial public offering. In China’s policy-driven innovation ecosystem, visibility at nationally significant events can translate quickly into funding access, regulatory goodwill, and investor confidence.

Agibot took a slightly different path. According to state-run Securities Times, the company opted out of the CCTV gala to conserve resources for research and development. Still, its robots have been demonstrated directly to Xi in the past, underscoring that even firms skipping the main stage are keenly aware of the importance of official recognition.

Marketing Meets Industrial Strategy

These performances are not just public relations exercises. They reflect a broader strategy to reposition humanoid robots from experimental novelties to credible platforms with commercial potential. Song-and-dance routines may appear frivolous, but they demonstrate balance control, motion planning, perception, and human-robot interaction — all critical capabilities for future industrial and service applications.

The spectacle also helps differentiate Chinese firms in a crowded global field. Elon Musk has repeatedly argued that Chinese companies represent the most serious competitive threat to his Optimus humanoid robot initiative at Tesla. Like his Chinese counterparts, Musk has relied on promotional stunts, including showcasing robots as bartenders, to generate attention and frame progress narratives.

What Comes After the Applause

For investors and policymakers, the key question is whether entertainment-led exposure can translate into sustainable business models. While humanoid robotics remains capital-intensive and years away from mass deployment, China’s approach — combining public spectacle, state signaling, and private capital — suggests a coordinated push to accelerate adoption.

As Lunar New Year celebrations fade, the industry’s next test will be whether these companies can convert attention into contracts, funding rounds, and tangible advances in real-world deployment.