A panda robot band performs at the 2026 CIFTIS in Shougang Park, Beijing, on September 9, 2026. Photo: Li Hao/GT

The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) is being held at Shougang Park in Beijing from September 9 to 13. As one of the hottest tech sectors in recent years, robots have become the star of many exhibition halls, offering a full display of China's AI capabilities.

This year's CIFTIS introduced a new interactive experience zone for robot consumer scenarios, featuring six immersive sections: retail, automobiles, clothing customization, music and performance, quadruped bionics, and sports competition. Set against Shougang Park's iconic industrial backdrop and paired with numerous interactive humanoid robots, the zone creates a tech space that visitors can watch, play and take photos, offering a close-up look at how embodied intelligence is reshaping daily life, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Hall 3 at Shougang Park, dedicated to telecommunications, computer and information services, is one of the most tech-heavy venues, showcasing diverse AI and robotics applications for future life and services.

A robot plays bianzhong (chime bells), a set of bronze bells with a 2,000-year history, at the CIFTIS venue. Photo: VCG

A wheeled dual-arm robot designed for both unmanned post offices and cultural creative retail made its debut. After a postcard is written, the robot automatically picks it up, stamps it with precision and drops it into a mailbox nearby. It then handles a blind box purchase with equal ease. According to an on-site member of staff, the robot is already deployed in China Post scenarios, handling both retail and postal services, effectively doing two jobs at once.

Robots are opening new possibilities in agriculture and elderly care. Inspirai Robotics said its products have already been put into the test in fruit picking, tea picking and tea processing. Elderly care is a key focus for the company, with robots able to handle many caregiving tasks for seniors and those with limited mobility, reducing the load on human caregivers.

A first-time exhibitor took a different angle on human-robot interaction: data collection. Staff demonstrated the NOLO Ego, a head-mounted data collection system that captures 360-degree real-world operation data. This data can then be used to train robots - for example, helping them judge turns during a marathon - thereby providing more realistic learning material for embodied intelligence.

He Qionghua, head of Hall 3, said the venue features more than 30 products making their debut or first showcase. Beyond the products above, visitors can also watch or try high-jump robots, cooking robots, wall-climbing robots, as well as a holographic communication pod that projects 3D images once a person steps inside - offering a glimpse of an intelligent economy where carbon-based and silicon-based life coexist.

A performer in traditional Chinese dress shakes hands with a humanoid robot between shows. Photo: Li Hao/GT

In Hall 6, a 3-meter circular rotating stage sits at the center, where multiple competing humanoid robots take turns demonstrating stable walking gaits and dynamic performances. The floor is covered with half-marathon-themed virtual track decals, while a ring-shaped flexible LED screen plays highlight clips of race sprints, recreating the atmosphere of a humanoid robot half-marathon, according to the Beijing E-Town WeChat account on Tuesday.

Beyond robot competitions, the zone also features an interactive area where both adults and children can operate robots through a mini obstacle course, experiencing the fun of robotics firsthand, the article said.

At the Beijing cultural heritage exhibition area, the historic scene of Liulichang Street antique trading in Beijing has been carefully recreated, with two robots playing the roles of "shopkeeper" and "attendant," introducing cultural relics and artworks to visitors and exhibitors, reported chinanews.com on Wednesday.

"The robots can introduce more than 100 cultural relics and artworks in detail and also tell the history of Liulichang. Sales of cultural relics and artworks are often based on understanding their value, and human sales staff have limitations in how they explain things. Through training and learning, robots can tell the stories behind the artifacts to visitors," Bi Jianyu, an official from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, was quoted by the chinanews.com as saying.

As fair participants noted, with the deep integration of digitalization, intelligence and green development, services are becoming increasingly tradable and the boundaries of trade are expanding. 

China's service trade has now exceeded $1 trillion, becoming a key driver of trade growth and structural upgrading, reported Guangming Daily on Thursday.

Global Times

A CIFTIS staff member uses a cargo robot dog to transport items. Photo: Li Hao/GT

A visitor watches small humanoid robots perform a dance. Photo: Li Hao/GT

A robot in traditional costume helps a vendor make and sell specialty food. Photo: VCG

Visitors walk through Shougang Park during CIFTIS. Photo: Li Hao/GT