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Robots spark a buying frenzy in China following their martial arts performance at the Spring Festival Gala.
And China's Spring Festival holiday kicks off strong with box office and travel surging.
What's behind the holiday spending boom?
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Robots have ignited self-surges after their martial arts performance at the Spring Festival Gala.
Humanoid robots took center stage on Monday during the annual China Media Group's Spring Festival Gala, China's most-watched official television broadcast.
Within two hours of the program, e-commerce giant JDcom reported a 300 surge in searches for robots, a 460 spike in customer increase and a 150 jump in orders compared to the previous period.
The buying frenzy swept across over 100 cities, from first-tier metropolis to smaller counties, revealing a nationwide appetite for intelligent machines.
What does the dazzling display of technological prowesses tell us about the state of China's robot development?
For more on this, joining us on the line is Dr. Zhou Mi.
Sydney Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Did you catch the gala this year?
And when those robots started doing like one-legged backflips, drunken boxing, even a 75 spin air flare, what went through your mind?
Are you impressed?
Yeah, I think it's really a very interesting performance by these robbers.
Actually, this time I saw that when they're jointly together with humans, they are performing quite well, not only about the kung fu, about the dance, and also about the attitudes or sound.
So I think that is really a very interesting thing.
I would say that it also gave people around the world some impression that China's robots is trying to do something more, even better than the humans themselves.
So this kind of gestures or performance are really designed to represent?
What are the improvements of the robots?
And they cannot just try to stay there.
They have a lot of very important skills gained.
So it's really a very interesting thing, not just for the amusement, but also for the interactions with the people and also the integration with the human's lives.
Speaking of the improvements, just a year ago they were basically walking around and spinning handkerchiefs.
Now they are sprinting and doing full martial arts routines.
How big of a leap is that in tech terms?
And We're really powering all of that behind the scenes.
Yeah, in my understanding, there are systematic improvements of the robots.
So maybe one year ago, most of these robots are very cautious.
They cannot just move quickly because they may be afraid of falling down.
So this time, I think it's not only about the fingers and about the hands, but also about the legs and also the body gestures.
So it's kind of a very important systematically improvement, trying to integrate the abilities of the different parts of the robots into one.
That means that they can move faster, they can move more steadily and they can also use some very complicated combinations in the different actions.
So in my understanding, what impressed me is that you know they are not just doing that things individually.
They are some interactions or teamwork by the robots so they can do something differently, player playing different actors.
Some of the robots are not only uh, even from one company, so they really are kind of collaboration and i mean that's a medical way of improvement.
They were reported running over 3 meters per second and still keeping perfect formation, something described as a global first in dynamic cluster control.
What does that actually mean for real-world industries and why we need such capability?
Well, that is the point.
You know, we are not just trying to put the robots just in the stage for the performance.
So in my understanding that it is even more important for China and for other countries who are going to deal with the problems of the labor shortages.
So we can introduce those robots into the factories and they can take place of some very dirty, heavy tasks of the people and it will be safer.
We are not trying to use so many people to do those dangerous works.
I would say that it's a kind of possibility if we are able to control all these things, but i know that it's not that easy.
So the reason why we are not seeing so many robots in the factory because that they still need a lot of improvements.
So for china, we are doing some experiments.
If we can do more, i would say that will be very helpful for the world to try to deal with different challenges.
We are talking about hundreds of millions of simulation tests behind those moves.
So at this point, where do Chinese robotics companies stand globally?
More broadly, how mature is China's robotics industry, especially in terms of building a systematic advantage across the entire industrial chain?
In China, you know, a lot of things happening very quickly.
I think that is because the companies are really trying to be involved in the competition.
So for the robotic industry, I would say that there are so many new emerging companies.
They are trying to define the different way or different directions, because they really want to touch some of the specific markets.
So some of the companies are trying to do a bigger one.
They are going to carry very heavy parts.
And also they can do a lot of very maybe not that fast, but they are also continually or systematically ways of doing the same.
Some of the robot companies are trying to be more flexible.
They are producing the robots who are able to move faster.
They're more important for those kinds of tasks who are trying to use delivery abilities.
Some of these robots companies are trying to do something different.
So, in this regard, I would say that the Chinese companies are trying to address the challenges in different ways.
So this is really important for the world.
And another one, as I mentioned, that it is a systematic way of doing that.
So the companies are not just building the robots by themselves.
Some of them are doing something to do with automobiles and new energy vehicles.
And I think that is really important because if we are able to produce those robots, the vehicles, in a systematic way, I would say that is generally a very important thing to reduce the cost and also the energy used in these sectors.
So we can contribute to the world for much a leap of the productivity.
As we earlier pointed out, within two hours, searches for robots jumped 300 and orders were up 150.
That's instant market reaction after the Spring Festival Gala.
So how do you rate that?
And if robots can pull off martial arts like this, how close are we to having them at home?
Well, it's an interesting question because people really want to have it.
I think that there are maybe two kinds of problems.
The first one is that can we do something fit for the people's demand?
I mean that, if they are going to put that at home, Can these robots play an important role to support the senior people in different ways?
Or they can deal with some of the routine things like the kitchen stuff, the cleaning stuff.
I think that is one of the possibilities and challenges.
I think there are more companies are trying to address the challenges in this regard.
Well, the second one is that whether it is affordable, you know, because the robots are still very expensive.
They are involving so many complicated parts like the machineries, the lithium batteries.
They're expensive.
And also the software and the algorithms behind them are also very expensive.
So can we just reduce everything into affordable prices would be the key that the robots can go into the families' lives.
So in my understanding that in both sides, Chinese companies are really doing good.
They are not just able to produce these products, but they are able to use the data that they have in the laboratories to support the upgrade of these robots in a better way.
So they are trying to use the scale of economy to reduce the cost as well.
So I would say that the Chinese companies are really not just trying to keep it closed.
We are opening these collaboration possibilities with our partners.
So if we can do more with our trading partners from other countries, I think that it's likely that the world is able to benefit from the development of the robots at home.
So we are seeing that China and also many other countries are stepping agent society.
We have so many senior to be here.
So we need to improve the ability of the robots and make it as safe as people.
And I would say that there are still a lot of efforts.
We have to do with technology, with manufacturing, with regulation and also collaborations between the different countries and partners in the world.
We still have more to work together with our partners.
Then building on that, what are the biggest hurdles for China's robot industry right now?
Well, there are so many challenges.
First of all, can we put the development of the industries in a sustainable way?
So it means that if we are going to encourage private investment into their sectors, they have to benefit from the input and also benefit from the returns after many years.
As short as we can.
But can we do it in a better way to make it happen very easily?
I think that is the first challenge.
And the second challenge is about, you know, can we do something to cooperate with our partners?
I think that you know we have a lot of interference by the countries like the United States for export controlling and stop the collaboration with Chinese companies.
I think that's really dangerous for us to trying to develop our diverged paths of technology.
Well, the third one is that can we do the things in the ethnic way.
So we are facing so many new challenges coming from the robots themselves.
Should we just be very careful about the ways of putting the robots into the families?
We have so many things we have to deal with.
So I think that for China's robots it seems very promising, but we were not just trying to do the China's own market or as a path for the development.
We want to make it open.
We want to make it to benefit the world.
So we need to do that thing together.
And I would say that a lot of combination between the goods and the services and also the production and the trading services.
So we need to do that in a better way to fit for our goal of higher quality development.
But I also want to contribute to the world by the better of the products and services.
Thanks, Jomi, for those insightful analysis.
That was Dr Jomi, Senior Research Fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and economic cooperation.
Coming up, China's spring festival holiday kicks off strong, with box office and travel surging.
What's behind the holiday spending boom?
This is Road Today.
Stay with us.
In-depth analysis, valuable insights, expert views, presented by an award-winning team.
Today, keeping you well-informed, up-to-date, and ahead of the news.
Welcome back to Road Today.
China's spring festival holiday is off to a strong start.
As of Wednesday, total holiday movie revenues have surpassed 2 billion, or about 290 million US dollars, and scoring robust consumer enthusiasm.
At the same time, travel is surging nationwide.
Railway authorities expect more than 10 million passenger trips on the fourth day of the holiday alone, with over 270 million train tickets already sold.
What do these numbers tell us about China's holiday economy?
With more.
Zhao Yang spoke with Einar Tengen, a senior fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank.
So Einar, how do you celebrate the Chinese New Year here in Beijing?
Do you find some of the new trends for this year's Spring Festival holiday consumption?
Well, I actually I celebrate for the last 21 years.
I've been celebrating New Year's in Beijing.
I think only one of those years was I outside for the spring festival holidays.
So for me, it's all about the spring festival gala on the CCTV and CGTN.
And also, you know, walking around, enjoying the city.
Restaurants are full.
You really have to book ahead if you want to have a meal, especially if you're bringing guests and things like that.
And people are now more willing to spend money on experience-related and culture-related activities.
So tell us more about that and what indicators we will be tracking during this year's Spring Festival period to gauge the strength of Chinese consumption.
Well, obviously, the box office, tourism, these are the traditional spending things.
2025, banner year, I broke all the records and things like that.
This year, it's off to a strong start.
You start looking at overall consumption.
There's some real new trends there, especially in terms of AI buying.
Four million seniors tried it for the first time and it now represents about a third of the online buying.
This is AI.
Buying is when you use these AI agents and you just say Hey, I'm looking for this that, and I wanted to do this.
And all of a sudden it says, Oh, here it is.
And it helps you buy.
It makes life a lot easier, especially for those who are not as digital as other people.
And you can see it reflected.
I mean clearly out.
In the rural areas consumption was up by a higher percentage point than in.
I mean rural areas were far ahead of urban areas in terms of consumption and the number of people trying it, especially AI buying up dramatically.
And special purchases for this year's Spring Festival are, of course, being redefined by technology, with AI emerging as a key shopping tool, as nearly one-third of consumers are now including AI toys and home robots in their shopping list to enhance the family bonding.
And on the first day of the Year of the Horse, more than 130 million people tried AI-powered shopping.
So what does this tell us?
Well, it tells you shopping is a lot easier.
And, you know, the amount that was in there is just amazing.
You know, 130 million people.
When you take that to other countries, especially the US, it just seems amazing, especially given that you know we only have 360 million people.
So.
It's a huge trend.
Robotics, obviously, you know, I watched the robot show on the CCTV gala.
That was amazing because I compared it to what I watched last year.
Last year was impressive.
This year was amazing.
And I've noticed online there's just all sorts of talk about it.
Tourism, a huge area now.
And the experience, I mean, it's up dramatically.
14%, I believe, is the number, over 2025.
And that's due to this open visa policy that China has extended to everybody.
But you see a lot of traveling still going out.
The number of trips of people going to other nations continues to increase, but very, very different.
A lot more into the global south, a little less into Europe and America.
Obviously, there are concerns and things like that.
But overall, people are very happy.
One thing I noticed is a lot of my friends who are here flew their parents into Beijing rather than going back to the hometown.
And this has really made things interesting, not only the restaurants, but cultural tourism up.
I mean, I think there was a double-digit increase in the amount of cultural products I think almost 30 that are being sold.
And people are interested in experience.
They're learning how to do cloisonne.
They're going and experiencing hanfu, which is the traditional Chinese dress, but which is now morphing into more modern styles that combine hanfu with modern designs and things like this.
China is really burgeoning.
I mean, it's so many things to do versus old days.
And a lot of it has to do with AI.
People are really interested.
They're going to museums and wearing 3D glasses so that they can interact a little bit more with you know, cultural museums and things like this.
And you just mentioned, the inbound tourism is gaining momentum, and celebrating the Chinese New Year in China has become a growing trend for foreign travelers.
So why is that visible this year?
Well, inbound is coming.
There's two issues you have to look at.
One is that the holidays, spring festival is not a holiday in countries outside of Asia.
So you're not going to get a huge boost in tourism because of those.
But people coming back to China who are of Asian descent, very, very huge.
And also you have countries, people from other countries coming into China because they also celebrate the New Year's, although sometimes slightly different.
So from Singapore, from Thailand, et cetera, you still have people coming into China.
They want to experience it.
China's success has been a large part of that.
You know, you go online anywhere and you start to see a real change, since so many people have come here and they are using their personal broadcasts to their families and friends to say China was incredible.
And also talking about tourism.
More families are choosing to travel instead of staying at home for the nine-day holiday.
So is traveling for the new year becoming a structural shift in Chinese consumption habits?
Well, yeah, a lot of that has to do with growing middle class.
I mean, last year, Chinese income increased, disposable income increased by over 5%.
So this means that people have more to spend.
Overall, China continues to move ahead.
And with that extra income, it gives them different choices and going abroad and doing.
But it's no longer that.
Go to a country, get on a bus stop for five minutes, take pictures and then go to the next stop.
They're now.
They want to experience.
They'll go someplace and they'll stay for you know, the whole whole time, or only visit a couple of cities.
They'll try to arrange a house rather than just stay in hotels.
They want to eat the local food.
They really want to experience it much more deeply than just a bunch of pictures.
And we've also seen the Spring Festival box office is off to a strong start.
So how do you explain that?
And why is movie revenue such a closely watched economic indicator?
Well, you know, it's generally an indicator of how people feel.
Especially, you know, movies are a tradition during the spring festival holidays.
You know, families get together and, you know, what do you do after you've eaten a huge meal?
Let's go to a movie.
And so this is kind of a sport.
But, you know, the box office is off to a strong start.
It's off to a strong start, as I said earlier.
It's a real indicator of how people are seeing the economy, and the travel is as well, as well as consumption.
I mean, you have to understand.
China's spent 50 trillion dollars in 2025 and we're expecting that number to increase.
It had, you know, somewhere between three point two and three point four point seven percent increases in various categories.
The 4.7 being the highest consumption came from increases, came from rural areas.
All the rural areas are about a seventh of the total value.
And you compare that to, you know, even like the U.S.
Actually, U.S. is lower.
And that's in real dollar terms.
If you start looking at it in terms of purchasing power parity, which is, you know what is a hamburger cost here versus in the US?
?
It's many multiple times that size.
China's consumer markets are now the envy of the world.
And this is why you see so much inbound investment coming in.
The German companies have really, really upped the amount of FDI that they're putting into China because they recognize that these are the markets that they need, especially for countries that are very export oriented.
And earlier you mentioned the AI shopping, which allows you to go from a recommendation system with algorithm on an e-commerce platform to a personal shopping agent.
And the idea is to just tell the AI what you want to buy and it will get it done for you.
So how do you see the potential of AI shopping being widely adopted here in China?
Well, it will be adopted.
The question is what people are concerned about, of course.
Is my AI shop agent working for me, or are they working for some other company?
Can they be influenced?
So there will be competition in creating these AI agents.
And you know, those who are successful will be able to convince their customers that no, we will look out for your interest.
We will scan the prices.
We will scan the models.
We will understand what you want and this will be their success and they will get a commission from their sales.
So it's not something that's going to cost the consumer a lot of money.
It's all about volume because you don't have a physical person.
It is just an AI agent.
It does cost something in terms of energy but a very, very small amount.
So this is going to be, in future, the preferred way of doing it, because you know, right now it was great to be able to go on the internet and see so many things, but there's too much out there.
So you need some help deciding exactly what you want to buy.
And you know cause you can describe something and say gee, you know, I'd like something that's red, And it's these dimensions, and it's a coffee table.
You know, where can I find it?
If you just depend on yourself in a search, it's going to be a long long, long time before you get there.
But if in fact you use an AI agent, it will be almost instantaneous.
And the retailers love that.
That was Einar Tengen, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank.
Still ahead how the country's commercial space sector is lifting off as a powerful new growth engine.
This is Road Today.
Stay with us.
Welcome back to Road Today, our Chinese New Year edition.
China's commercial space sector is taking off as a new engine of growth.
Once dominated by state-led programs, China's space sector is undergoing rapid commercialization.
Private companies are expanding into new areas such as satellites, launch vehicles and space services, reshaping the industry's scale, speed and structure.
Why is the commercial space sector becoming such a strategic focus in China?
What does this mean for industry players and investors?
My colleague Zhao Yang is joined by Zhang Fan, Associate Professor of Astronomy Department of Beijing Normal University.
Qu Qiang, professor from Mingzhu University of China, and Yan Liang, professor of economics at Willamette University.
So Professor Qu Qiang, I will start with you.
China's commercial space sector is growing rapidly, supported by strong investment and over 600 active companies in this area.
So what do you think is driving this expansion?
And what do you see as the key opportunities on the horizon?
Well, I think there are several factors actually can be combining together and form this momentum.
I think number one is about the policies opening up.
Ever since 2015, you know that the country have actually issued one document which allowed that you know us to break down the barrier for the private sectors to enter the, you know, commercial aerospace and aviation.
So I think this is very strategic because at that moment we have been seeing that the Elon Musk and SpaceX has been, you know, leading the whole area in america.
So in china we really want, you know, the private sector to fill in the blank, because you cannot ask several uh, you know state-owned enterprises in this area to cover all kinds of the services and research and innovation.
So that's the time when the private sector has been introduced in.
And secondly, i think with this opening up of the policy, i think technology also have been facing a spell over a period of time.
So you see, in china we have many state-owned rocket satellites and, you know, aerospace companies and with the private sector has been entering here.
So many of the engineers and many of the managerial staff in those state-owned enterprises they started their own company and or they try to be, you know, the technique technology consultant or The CTO of those private companies.
So you see, many of the talents actually have been finding a new soil to grow themselves and to grow their technology.
And plus, I think the capital actually been flooded in.
A lot of people thinking well, launching a rocket is really a high technology very dangerous, you know.
Very, very delicate issue.
So probably it's not a good idea for the Capito to get into that.
But with the success of the SpaceX and the commercial launching, I think – and also we'll be seeing the internet constellation in the low-orbital area.
So all this kind of application, plus the good profit and also the successful examples in there, really encourage the capital to flood in.
So actually by last year, I think, we have more than hundreds of millions, hundreds of billions of yuan actually has been into this market, not only in China, but also, I mean everywhere, in America, in Europe.
Major companies in major countries are all mushrooming.
And also, I think the really important thing is the new applications.
A new commercial scenario in this area has been popping up.
Like we just mentioned, low-orbit internet constellation, remote sensing navigation and also we have what we call three-dimensional applications, you know, vertical application.
For example, in Hainan Island, we've been combining the low-orbit satellite with drones, guiding the drones and also try to remote the temperature of the ocean and find out how we can feed those fishes, uh in the ocean uh, as best as we can, and also to predict when whether going to be tsunami or very big wave.
So this kind of a very matured and a payable, you know, market applications that's been urging the whole market to evolve.
So i think all the four reasons you know combined together give us what we see in the commercial aviation and aerospace industry.
Professor Zhang Fan.
So why, do you think, is the commercial space sector become such a strategic focus in China?
And what do you see as the key opportunities on the horizon?
In 2024, the States issued a sort of action plan for 2025 to 2027 in which you really outlined a whole bunch of actions that would help the private sector to develop.
First and foremost is opening up the state sector sort of testing facilities, research facilities, to these private companies.
As you can imagine, if you want to learn your ropes just by blowing up rockets, that quickly gets quite expensive.
So zero testing will be a vital thing and that's becoming available.
And also there's the regulatory issue of sort of establishing white list.
So basically anything on it is basically allowed.
You don't have to go by a case by case sort of application for launches, for example.
In the past, 2015 another milestone year that was mentioned by the previous guest established the fact that the private companies can go to space, but to obtain the launch licenses it's still a sort of case-by-case, very difficult-to-navigate sort of thing.
And now it's becoming much more sort of easy for companies to do that.
And the second reason why there is such a blumson of the companies is because sense, commercial sense is coming up, which is the launch of satellite constellations.
Because the large number of satellites being launched, reusable rocket technology will become a vital part.
And that being developed, well, the national team is also developing that.
But the cake is so big.
There is a possibility that a large chunk will go to the private companies.
So people are seeing their investment can possibly make a profit, which is why funding is getting injected into this sector, both from the state funds and private funds.
So there are more than 600 commercial space companies here in China.
So which technological breakthroughs stand out as potential game changers for China's commercial players?
And what can they really do in this sector?
Well, I think I agree with the previous two speakers.
I think the space economy is growing really rapidly.
I think according to the World Economy Forum, this market is going to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035.
So there are a lot of technological breakthroughs, as you just mentioned, that help to enable the growth of the sector.
So I think what was mentioned was reusable rockets.
Right that actually in the past 20 years that has helped to lower the cost of space launches, satellite launches by 10 times again, according to the World Economy Forum.
So I think these kinds of technologies right really help to reduce the entry cost and reduce the cost of satellite launches, are propelling the industries to make it more profitable, to make the commercial interest elevated, to participate.
And of course I think, because there's a huge market, it also has really a lot of potentials to build the ecosystem, to spill over to many other industries.
So, for example, in the upstream there's a lot of potential for infrastructure to build, for example, the rocket launcher sites, and also a lot of manufacturing capabilities need to be deployed to produce satellites and the components and also to build a lot of these space tugs.
So there is opportunity for manufacturing sector, especially advanced manufacturing.
Then in the downstream, you have a lot of applications and services that are really, I would say, built upon the space economy, right?
So, for example, satellites communications, Earth observation data, GPS positioning and other satellite-enabled services like FinTech or Internet of Things.
And in addition to these upstream-downstream sectors, that will present a lot of opportunities, but there are also many emerging sectors like space tourism.
I know.
For a while it sounds really like a legendary story, but actually the estimate is that This is going to grow into a four to six billion dollars market by 2035.
There's also possibility of in space manufacturing, because these very low gravity environment could allow for some very precision, you know manufacturing and also space based solar power.
So in a way, I think I would say that there are a lot of technological breakthroughs, especially in terms of reusable rocket launches and others that would help to power the space economy.
And in turn it is going to create a lot more new opportunities for upstream, downstream and emerging sectors.
And Professor Quqiang, so many people still see the space as far away.
But where are the commercial space technologies already touching our daily life?
Yan mentioned the space tourism.
And what do you think about that?
Well, there have actually been many, you know, aerospace technologies been touching our daily life.
For example, like we just mentioned about the low orbit data. constellation for the internet, right?
Starlink actually has been there for quite some year.
And also this constellation is working all over the world right now.
Just take a look at the current internet market.
I think it's going to be the great challenge. for not only China, but for everybody.
I mean, it's been a really a threatening technology for, like ATT, for China Unicon, for any country, you name it who's running the traditional cable internet right?
And also about the launching services.
A lot of people think, okay, satellite and launching is none of my business, right?
But actually, it is.
Currently there are more and more private companies.
I mean small and medium-sized companies.
They will have their own privately owned, specially purposed satellite in a low-orbit area.
For example, if I'm a company, I need the remote sensing of my agriculture, my fishery, my herding businesses.
I just want one of the satellites to help me to guide my drone, or just to send my pictures about my fishery grounds, fishery waters or my nomad, my herding areas and all that.
Actually, Instead of just renting a public satellite, it's better to have your own low orbit satellite.
And also about the weather forecast, I think everybody already knows about that.
And also about some other usage, for example, like we just mentioned, about 3D dimensional combination.
In the very high level, you've got the satellite, and in the lower space and economy, you have the drones. and then on the ground you have all the kind of the sensory tower and all the collection of the data and use all the data and analyze it to do something so this is actually very very important and also not mentioning many companies are using you know this private launching to do the uh scientific experiment for example to try out the new materials in the extremely cold area in the uh in a cosmos so you can do all kinds of extreme scientific experiment which is very expensive or basically impossible on the ground because it's a really low uh a temperature and a really vacuum so this is very important and a plus i think there is another very important and ambitious area for us to looking into is the orbital solar farm Because Elon Musk has been mentioning that if you want to get the no loss of the sunshine, you can have 24-7 this kind of solar generation, solar power.
I think in the universe is the perfect situation.
You won't have the days in light.
You won't have all kinds of the cloud.
You've just been there and 24 7 generate pure power through the solar and also talking about the ai generation and the power storage right, and the data storage.
Basically, for the ai and also for the data storage, the most important problem is how they can get rid of the heat.
So cooling down the whole system is very important, but on the universe this area is perfect for the whole environment low temperature and vacuum.
So, Professor Xu Qiang, China's commercial space sector has already surpassed 25 trillion yuan in the output value, with an annual growth rate of 20.
So do you believe commercial space can become a pillar industry comparable to new energy vehicles or artificial intelligence?
Well, yes.
Compared to the renewable energy vehicle, I think the answer is definitely yes.
Not in the current five years, but in the next 10 to 20 years.
Commercial aerospace and aviation is going to be a next level.
It's a far, far, far, far, far more than EV that you can even imagine in the wildest dream.
Like I mentioned, it's just another level thing because just consider that if you have all kinds of the, the solar, you know, panels floating in the universe up on the sky and they can generate the power 24 7 within the vacuum and low temperature to power up the low orbit ai center with the data storage, That is going to be phenomenal.
That is going to be the game changer.
It's going to be the game ender.
It's going to be the ultimate game.
Infinite power.
Infinite calculation power.
When they combine together, it can be translated into infinite productivities. on the Earth.
So any one country, any one group of businesses who master that kind of technology and productivity, they are going to be the new emperor.
They're going to rule human beings.
So I think if we cannot catch up with that, we probably wouldn't like the future.
But I think I'm very optimistic and very happy China as a kind giant are mastering this area.
We're probably the only two countries, China and America, who can master this area in AI and also the commercial aerospace technologies.
So when China stands out, we mean a government of people can have this kind of technology to use it for good.
And also a giant of the global South nation have this technology.
It means other global South nations can be represented with this technology and enjoy the spillover of its benefit.
So we should thank our ancestors that China have this technology and will use it for good.
So Yan, do you agree with Professor Qu Qiang?
Yes, I think that indeed, I think the space economy really provides a lot of opportunities, right?
And I think I would also say, in addition to all these commercial and these value creation and also technological development, I think, when it comes to national security, is yet another very important aspect of developing the space economy.
So I think, with technological development and with the space economy development, I think it also helped to strengthen in terms of not only in terms of technological self-reliance and also in terms of again getting a market share in that space economy.
But it's also important when you think about space links.
For example, they're now having 7000 satellites.
And I think Elon Musk is applying to get another 7,400 satellites up there.
And so right now, China is still we're really behind.
It only accounts for about 7 of the global satellites.
So I think there's a lot of potential and I think China will be accelerating in that development.
So again, I think the space solar farm, it's another, I would say a huge potential, right?
And it would be also see a lot of competition.
But, at the same time, I think China is doing great when it comes to both in terms of technological development, in terms of private sector participation, but also in terms of its really large manufacturing capacity.
That would help with the manufacturing, with in-space service, when it comes to launch services.
I think China have a lot of potential in there.
And, last but not least, I think that shared governance is important, because I think governance has been really dominated by Western interests, especially the United States.
But I think now China is making a lot of progress, right?
It's participating in the United Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, trying to influence international rulemaking.
It has signed 46 agreements with 19 countries and four international organizations to extend the cooperation on some of these Tiangong space station with the UN member states.
And it has also really trying to promote more of the governance issues when it comes to space traffic management, debris mitigations and also the legal framework for resource extraction.
So I think China is participating and in forging ahead not only in terms of technological developments, commercial values, but also in really the rulemaking which I think is really important, shaping the space economy going forward.
And this is a space economy.
And meanwhile, China's low altitude economy has also seen a lot of development.
And the sector has been included in multiple national and provinces development plans.
And the market is also projected to reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
So, Professor Qu Qiang, why is it becoming such a strategic focus?
And what are the biggest drivers behind this growth?
Well, I think this kind of growth is really important.
Basically, it's to have a very, very long, you know, value chain.
And you have to understand this business is you know basically, they are a very independent value chain, different from the VV, different from the housing market, different from the computers.
Basically, you will start everything from materials.
For example, like the cold button nickel alloy being used in the critical...
You know, bearing was in, you know, rocket or in its, you know, throttles.
So all that kind of the things it's never been used in other kind of the machines see, because you need to stand extreme high heat and extreme low heat and also you have to experience this very high frequencies, kind of vibrations, and all that kind of you know requirement to make sure, well proposed, a requirement for you know materials.
So basically from the mining, basically from all kinds of you know refinery businesses, you will build your own value chain and also down there you're going to build the parts, you're going to have the very different communication and telegram systems and then you're going to have the whole different calculation and a computing center is very different from your commercial computers or some other things.
And also it's not only about the you know the aircraft, about the rocket or about the shuttle, space shuttle, And you need to build the whole infrastructures around that, like how you can deliver, how you can transport all the parts, how you can monitor with all kinds of the sensors, with all kinds of the satellites and also the other airplanes, how you can monitor all that.
If you ever noticed how the SpaceX has been launching their Falcon rocket, you see they have the boat there.
Remote sensing boat.
They have their drones, they have their satellite, they have their airplanes hovering around the whole area.
It's not only the launch concept, but also the landing site.
Everything will be monitored through a whole different infrastructure system.
So all that actually means a lot of investment and a lot of the, a training of the talents and more than that.
And if you can build this kind of home structure you know together and then you will use it, for you know more of the business models in the downstream, like we just mentioned, about fire distinguishing, about the air, about aerospace guiding, about remote sensing, about our culture, about fishery.
So all that actually will form a very different business model other than our traditional thinking.
And also even when we're talking about the solar farm in the space, and that will also be very different from the solar farm you've been seeing on ground.
So I think that will be a very, very large from zero to one kind of experience and campaign we need to go through.
So how can the low altitude economy change the urban air mobility and what are the commercial applications of it in various sectors such as agriculture, industry and services?
How to make it more cost efficient?
Well, yeah, so I think this is great.
I mean the low-altitude economy, right really.
I think it really promises to transform the urban mobility.
So I think we're already seeing in China, for example, when it comes to drone delivery.
Major cities like Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are now using drones for rapid logistics.
For example, Meituan has already launched 53 routes to deliver meals and packages.
And you're also seeing the development of the eVTOL, the electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or otherwise known sometimes as the air taxis.
I think that is also developing quickly.
For example, Yi Hang is advancing their eVTOL aircraft toward commercial uses.
And I think that has the potential to have the short distance, low carbon and really fast intra-city and inter-city travel.
Now, of course, the cost is still relatively high.
So I think that is really the next step to try to manufacture in a large scale and also improve the technologies and the battery capacity to really make these kinds of air taxi a more sort of a common reality.
I think there's also many of other usages, as you mentioned, in addition to, you know, drone delivery and air taxis.
And so I think Professor Qiqiang also mentioned some of these right that you could use these drones and these unmanned aircraft for, for example, tourism purposes, for research and development and also for agricultural sectors.
Right to be able to spray any fertilizers or to control irrigations.
And all of these, I think, are really important uses of these low agricultural economy technologies.
And so the sector is going to grow really rapidly.
I think that has been a key national focus for 2025 and 2030.
So we're already seeing.
For example, by the projection for 2030, the sector is projected to reach 150 billion yuan for unmanned aerial vehicles and 100 billion annually for the urban air mobility.
So that would really help to promote the kind of urban mobility as you mentioned to reduce congestion and delivery times in major cities.
I think.
In a nutshell, I think that we're seeing that China is developing very quickly in this low-electric economy, led by the regional clusters and with, I think, the national strategic support, both in terms of technologies but infrastructure building, but also regional coordination.
Now we're Yan Liang, professor of economics at Willamette University.
Zhang Fan, associate professor of astronomy department of Beijing Normal University.
Qu Qiang, professor at Mingzhu University of China.
With the launch of China's 15th five-year plan this year, commercial aerospace has become a national priority.
2026 will be a crucial year for the sector.
China also plans to speed up the development of suborbital and orbital space tourism vehicles and establish a full space tourism operation system.
These efforts highlight China's growing ambitions in the global space economy.
Xu Yi explores China's recent developments in commercial aerospace.
The year 2026 for the Haiyang Oriental Spaceport began with a seaward roar on January 16th, as the Series 1S Haiyao-7 rocket blasted off from the Shandong coast.
And this launch has ushered in a year of intensive activity at the port.
Li Jun is leading his crew in final preparations for an imminent launch.
While sea-based launches offer greater flexibility than land-based ones, they demand more from both the ship and its navigators.
This unique equipment on the launch vessel is the dynamic positioning system.
It automatically holds the ship in position as commanded, especially in deep sea, maintaining the location within 3 to 5 meters of precision.
We also reinforce and maintain the vessel to ensure the safety of both the ship and the rocket for stormy weather.
Besides offering flexibility and safer rocket recovery, efficiency is key to sea-based launches.
The Haiyang RN2 Spaceport developed Port Factory Integration Model enabling rockets to launch right after production.
And the company RN Space and its rocket stand out.
And in the AIT workshop at the company, workers are preparing for the latest launch in the first half of this year.
And after their work, before launch, the wheel-assembled rocket will depart from this facility to the port for final vertical assembly.
Beyond the rocket base, Haiyang also hosts satellite companies such as the Star AI, the developer of China's new intelligent remote sensing constellation, or anti-smart eye constellation, aiming to create a globally responsive AI satellite network in space.
In 2024, its first operational satellite, Yantai-2, was launched from Haiyang.
In recent years, space infrastructure has accelerated rapidly and China is working harder to launch more satellites to support global networks, with flexible and safer commercial sea launches providing a key boost.
Recently in Haiyang, the construction of China's first offshore liquid-filled rocket launch and recovery test platform is in full swing.
And in February we will witness the first launch and recovery test for a domestic commercial liquid rocket here, marking a new chapter for China's commercial space industry.
That was Xu Yu reporting.
That's all the time for this edition of Word Today.
I'm Ge'Anna.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
