TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto expressed confidence that Indonesia can catch up to China's current advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.
"China has achieved extraordinary things in its applications of AI and robotics, so Indonesia must catch up with what they are doing," Airlangga said in Shanghai on Saturday, July 18, 2026, as reported by Antara.
He made the remarks while touring several exhibition booths at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, which runs from July 17 to 20, 2026.
Inaugurated in 2018, the WAIC has grown into one of the world's largest conferences specializing in artificial intelligence, intelligent computing, and embodied intelligence.
For its 2026 edition, the WAIC is being hosted across three distinct venues in Shanghai, gathering 1,400 speakers from both Indonesia and across the globe, including nine Nobel Prize and Turing Award winners alongside corporate executives and policymakers. The accompanying exhibition features 1,100 companies showcasing 3,000 products and technologies, with more than 300 innovations making their global debuts.
"Their robotics industry is truly developing and has remarkable versatility, particularly regarding the many tasks that can now be automated through robots," Airlangga noted.
Airlangga plans to brief President Prabowo Subianto on his insights from the exhibition as well as his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Minister of Trade Wang Wentao, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
"Of course, we will report that moving forward, we must not be left behind in AI, particularly in robotics and the renewable energy sector," Airlangga added.
During his tour, Airlangga visited at least three specific booths, beginning with Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based robotics firm established in 2016.
The enterprise specializes in the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of high-performance legged and humanoid robots designed for consumer and industrial applications. Its commercial lineup features the Go, A, and B series of quadruped robots, alongside advanced humanoid models like the H1, G1, and H2.
Unitree is best known for its appearance on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a celebration of Chinese New Year. In 2026, Unitree displayed the G1 and H2 robots performing autonomous kung fu performances, including complex movements such as backflips, parkour, and the choreography "Drunken Fist."
The second stop on his itinerary was Deep Robotics, a Hangzhou-based robotics outfit established in 2017 to engineer robotic systems and core components, focusing on quadrupedal and humanoid robots for industrial automation and academic research.
Their flagship line is the Jueying robot series, engineered specifically for industrial field operations such as power grid inspections, search and rescue missions, and hazardous environment monitoring.
The third booth highlighted Connected and Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd (CICT), a state-owned enterprise operating under the China Information Technology Group that focuses on the intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) and smart transportation sectors.
Established in 2012, CICT is involved in technical standards research, product innovation, and commercial promotion of C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) technology, offering integrated solutions for vehicle-to-infrastructure collaboration, smart connectivity, autonomous driving, and intelligent cockpits.
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