Chinese robotics firm Unitree Robotics said on Monday it has been named a robot partner for China Media Group’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala, marking the company’s third collaboration with the country’s most-watched annual television event. Unitree first appeared at the gala in 2021, when its robotic ox Benben debuted during the Year of the Ox celebrations. In 2025, the company’s humanoid robots featured in a performance titled Yang BOT, directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
The announcement comes as competition among Chinese robotics firms intensifies, with several companies seeking high-profile exposure through the gala. On Jan. 25, Galbot Co. Ltd. said it had become the designated embodied large-model robot partner for the 2026 event. Two days earlier, MagicLab announced it had been named the gala’s strategic intelligent robot partner for the Year of the Horse. [Technode Reporting]