New rules guide robotic intelligence

Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province has rolled out the country's first local regulation governing embodied intelligence robots, which took effect on May 1.

Covering technological innovation, infrastructure construction, industrial development, application empowerment and safety management, the ordinance sets clear legal guidelines for the standardized and high-quality growth of the emerging sector.

Zhou Junjie, senior vice-president of Zhejiang SUPCON Information Technology, noted that the regulation was formulated with extensive input from enterprises, research institutions, end users and expert panels. Tailored to the current development status and bottlenecks of China's embodied intelligence industry, it offers valuable references and guidance for the nationwide sector.

According to Zhou, the progress Hangzhou has achieved in the embodied intelligence industry, which has been propelled by the much-talked-about "six little dragons" enterprises, represented by Unitree Robotics and DEEP Robotics, has proved the feasibility and soundness of the local regulations. These rules will set an example to drive the entire industry.

As an example of embodied robots, the recently unveiled Hangjing Zhixing robot by SUPCON can perform standard directing gestures such as guiding traffic to go straight and stop fluently. It is also capable of detecting traffic violations including riding without safety helmets, stopping beyond traffic lines and jaywalking across zebra crossings, followed by polite and patient voice alerts.

It is expected to take on a wider range of tasks in Hangzhou, ranging from the West Lake scenic area and Qianjiang New Town.

"Though it is a local industrial regulation, it boasts universal applicability," Zhou said, adding that the regulation also takes into account the current development landscape and prevailing challenges of China's embodied intelligence robot industry."Undoubtedly, it offers valuable guidance and reference for the sector nationwide and will serve as a benchmark for the development of embodied intelligence across the country," Zhou noted.

"Furthermore, the regulation defines the core concept of embodied robots. By legislative means, it connects the full industry chain covering technology, application scenarios, market and safety. It gives enterprises full confidence to ramp up research and development efforts, roll out applications and expand business, acting as a real reassurance for local companies."

During an enterprise's growth, innovation is inevitably accompanied by risks and uncertainties. A stable, fair, transparent and predictable legal environment is fundamental for enterprises to invest, operate and pursue innovation boldly.

This forward-looking legislation for emerging industries serves as a vivid epitome of Zhejiang's two-decade commitment to advancing the rule of law to bolster high-quality development and business environment, according to local officials.

Grounded in the belief that the rule of law creates a sound business environment, Zhejiang has launched a host of pioneering reforms, including the one-stop service that features no unnecessary interference and timely responses to needs, which has effectively unlocked the innovation capability of market entities.

According to a survey made by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce to evaluate the business environment across the country in 2025, Zhejiang ranks first nationwide in four major categories: market environment, legal environment, innovation environment and government service environment. Its government service sector has maintained the top position for four consecutive years.

At the symposium marking the 20th anniversary of building a law-based Zhejiang, Wang Hao, Party secretary of the province, emphasized the key role of supporting high-quality development through legal services. He added that more efforts should be made to improve rules and systems for fostering a worldly recognized innovation ecosystem and a highly competitive business environment, and fully implement the requirements for building a unified national market.

"This constitutes a key part of Zhejiang's next drive to advance the development of a law-based province to a higher level," Wang said.