LinkedIn·Thursday, 20 August 2026·6d ago

The interesting question is no longer whether China 🇨🇳 can compete in AI. It's how far they already are. These are the main AI players…

Dado Van Peteghem

International Keynote Speaker | AI & Leadership | Passionate about the future

The interesting question is no longer whether China 🇨🇳 can compete in AI. It's how far they already are. These are the main AI players today. Together they form a serious alternative to the US ecosystem, and many of the leading Chinese models are open weight. That means anyone can download them, run them on their own infrastructure and build on top without asking permission. Most of this happened in under two years. If that is what the software layer looks like, the question is what happens when it meets the hardware. Because the ‘brain’ part of AI is only half the story. Combine these models with China's manufacturing power, robotics ecosystem and increasingly capable humanoids, and things get very interesting. Unitree Robotics, the leading humanoid player from China, listed in Shanghai yesterday. The stock opened 629% above its IPO price. Together with the ‘brain’, China is now also building the ‘body’. That is exactly what we are going to explore this November. 🇨🇳 China's Robotic Economy Tour 📅 15 to 20 November 2026 📍 Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou 🤖 AI, robotics and Physical AI 🎤 Hosted by Pascal Coppens and myself with the help of Samuel Scoupreman and Teele Tamme ⚡ 5 day executive immersion by nexxworks Time to go and see it for ourselves. Program and application in the comments 👇