Iran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount 600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih Death toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off Flores Israeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truce Colombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbs Rhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactor US readies unprecedented economic measures against Iran US boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacks Bond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildout Alibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloads Death toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinking Taliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisis EU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfire US presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupied Mokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit Marib Seoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drills China-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field test OpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departs Hamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nears WHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the response Turkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK members Morocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialise China publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claims Myanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriation Petrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the Amazon China condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni Shrine US inflation cools as wages again lag behind prices Modi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in India Oil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coast Panama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridor Ukraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fall Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji dies At least 20 killed in communal clashes in central Nigeria Iran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilots Xi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter China Venezuela frees 131 more political prisoners More Syrians in Germany lose refugee protection Audit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defences India drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firms Hichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumes Paris prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hack Report details leverage behind Situational Awareness losses Argentina has lost 30,633 companies under Milei At least five dead in Indiana flooding Iran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltration Canadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signatures India raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility early Opaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and Malta Britain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stall Third drone debris find in a day on Turkish coasts Forecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El Niño Secondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk orders Etna alert lowered as Catania airport reopens Funeral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riots Iran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount 600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi Rih Death toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off Flores Israeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truce Colombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbs Rhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactor US readies unprecedented economic measures against Iran US boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacks Bond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildout Alibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloads Death toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinking Taliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisis EU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfire US presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupied Mokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit Marib Seoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drills China-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field test OpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departs Hamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nears WHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the response Turkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK members Morocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialise China publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claims Myanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriation Petrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the Amazon China condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni Shrine US inflation cools as wages again lag behind prices Modi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in India Oil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coast Panama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridor Ukraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fall Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji dies At least 20 killed in communal clashes in central Nigeria Iran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilots Xi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter China Venezuela frees 131 more political prisoners More Syrians in Germany lose refugee protection Audit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defences India drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firms Hichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumes Paris prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hack Report details leverage behind Situational Awareness losses Argentina has lost 30,633 companies under Milei At least five dead in Indiana flooding Iran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltration Canadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signatures India raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility early Opaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and Malta Britain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stall Third drone debris find in a day on Turkish coasts Forecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El Niño Secondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk orders Etna alert lowered as Catania airport reopens Funeral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riots

Narrative thread · 2 events

China Humanoid Robots

Symbolic image: China Humanoid Robots

Symbolic image

Where things stand

Unitree priced its Shanghai listing at 150.80 yuan per share to raise 6.1 billion yuan, with retail investors oversubscribing 5,500 times, days after US analysts put Chinese vendors above 97 percent of global humanoid robot shipments.

Humanoid robots are general-purpose machines built for factory, commercial and service work, a sector that has only recently begun shipping in volume. Chinese manufacturers, among them Agibot and Unitree, supply most of the world's units and absorb most of the demand, a position tracked by outside analysts such as the US firm Smart Analytics Global.

Timeline in detail

Wednesday, 12 August 2026Technology

Unitree's Shanghai IPO oversubscribed 5,500 times

The Chinese robot maker priced its Shanghai listing at 150.80 yuan per share to raise 6.1 billion yuan (about $904 million), Daily Sabah reported on Tuesday, while the Financial Times said retail investors oversubscribed the offering 5,500 times. Global Times put the winning rate for subscribers at about 0.018 percent.

Tuesday, 11 August 2026TechnologyChina ships 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots

China ships 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots

Chinese vendors shipped more than 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, a US firm reported on Monday. China also took more than 85 percent of global demand.

TASSSouth China Morning PostGlobal Times