For years, Shenzhen has been synonymous with Chinese innovation. The southern megacity - and the firms it has spawned over the decades - have become the indisputable champions of the country's drive for technological self-reliance,

China is seeing a surge in humanoid robot rentals, with investors paying thousands of yuan daily and local companies fully booked until June.

China will need stronger action to ensure a level playing field - as the struggles of its first privately owned high-speed railways show As China's political elite gather for the country's annual legislative sessions in March,

According to the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism, discussions are ongoing with various major international starts about concert schedules. As more international voices echo in Hangzhou, the city's unique charm that bridges China and the world will be increasingly under the global spotlight.

The progress of DeepSeek reflects the rise of Chinese companies in artificial intelligence (AI), a spokesperson for China's parliament told reporters on Tuesday.

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI has raised more than 1 billion yuan ($137.22 million) in fresh funding, months after securing a 3 billion yuan investment.

With the debut of Xiaoyu, Hangzhou News Broadcast became the first news program in China to feature AI-generated hosts for an entire show. AI technology has advanced rapidly, and in less than a year, Xiaoyu has undergone multiple updates. "Now, capturing a single image may only take five to 10 minutes. That's quite impressive," Liu said.

Shenzhen has received a boost to its role in manufacturing humanoid robots after Unitree Robotics set up a new venture to leverage the supply chain and supportive policies of the southern tech hub. Unitree,

The Hangzhou-based firms have upended China’s tech scene — and sent governments across China scrambling for their own champions.

A simple handshake between President Xi Jinping and once-shunned entrepreneur Jack Ma sent Chinese tech stocks booming in recent weeks as it was interpreted as the latest sign the sector is being brought in from the cold -- though experts advise caution.

A growing number of investors in China are spending hundreds of thousands of yuan (1000 yuan = US$138) to buy humanoid robots and rent them out for profit.