National People's Congress Representative and Hisense Group Chairman Jia Shaoqian: Promote the large-scale adoption of companionship and aging-friendly robots

Report by China Times (chinatimes.net.cn) Journalist Wang Jing – Two Sessions Coverage

2026 marks a critical milestone for the robotics industry as it transitions from technological validation to practical application. Addressing current industry development trends, National People’s Congress delegate and Hisense Group Chairman Jia Shaoqian has submitted multiple proposals focused on the real-world implementation of artificial intelligence industry value and the scene-based development of the robotics industry.

In an interview with Huaxia Times, Jia Shaoqian suggested that the government should guide resources toward high-value vertical scenarios such as home services, healthcare and wellness, and specialized operations, to avoid homogenization and internal competition among humanoid robots. He emphasized supporting leading enterprises to leverage existing technological foundations to develop user-perceived service robots, creating differentiated advantages defined by scene-specific functions, and positioning “Made in China” as an irreplaceable part of the global value chain.

Notably, the government work report released on March 5 explicitly states that in the past year, China has led the world in research and application of artificial intelligence and robotics. It also highlights plans to expand accessible elderly care services, promote high-quality development of the silver economy, and improve elderly products—providing broad policy support for the practical deployment of aging-friendly robots.

Implementing in B2B industrial scenarios to promote industry upgrades

Jia Shaoqian believes that China’s vast manufacturing scale and application scenarios provide a unique fertile ground for the development of robotics in industrial B2B contexts. Enterprises should leverage existing industrial advantages and address common technical challenges to drive industry upgrades.

For example, Hisense’s global air conditioning industry’s first “Lighthouse Factory” uses自主研发的自动穿管装备 (self-developed automatic pipe threading equipment), integrating 17 high-precision visual cameras and 11 collaborative robots to solve industry technical bottlenecks. This technological breakthrough has yielded significant benefits: a 37% acceleration in product development, a 35% reduction in production costs, and a 13% decrease in unit energy consumption. Currently, Hisense is a main contributor to the national “Humanoid Robot Standardization White Paper” and has jointly established the “Future Factory and Embodied Intelligence Robot Joint Innovation Center” with Fuyao Technology University. Through full-chain integration of industry, academia, research, and application, it promotes rapid deployment of embodied intelligence in manufacturing, helping robots transition from industrial to broader application fields and consolidating core technologies.

Expanding into C-end home scenarios to embrace the new blue ocean of the silver economy

“Home is the most core application scenario for consumer robots. Companion and aging-friendly robots are expected to achieve large-scale popularization first,” Jia Shaoqian said. He pointed out that the home scene for C-end consumer robots has become the “first battlefield” for practical deployment, aligning closely with national strategies to actively respond to aging populations and promote high-quality development of the silver economy.

He noted that the greatest industrial opportunity in the AI era lies at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds, particularly in China’s most advantageous “manufacturing + software” integration. For embodied intelligence, the core competition is not general humanoid robots but data accumulation and interaction technology in specific scenarios. Therefore, he recommends that the government guide resources toward high-value vertical scenarios such as home services, healthcare, and specialized operations, to avoid homogenization among humanoid robots.

In January this year, Hisense’s first commercial humanoid robot was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas. It is also reported that Hisense will soon release more innovative products with expanded functions and forms centered around home scenarios. “In the future, every dowry list might include at least one robot,” Jia Shaoqian envisioned.

Looking ahead, in the second half of the competition where robot “work capacity” is key, Jia Shaoqian suggests using embodied intelligence as a breakthrough to create a differentiated new track. He advocates supporting leading enterprises to leverage existing technological foundations to develop user-perceived service robots, forming scene-defined functional advantages, and positioning “Made in China” as an irreplaceable part of the global value chain.

(Edited by: Wen Jing)

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