Are robots nearing their ChatGPT moment? Last month at Beijing's half marathon, a robot named Lightning beat the human world record by nearly seven minutes. It's the latest in a string of AI-powered milestones that have got people wondering whether robots are about to enter our everyday lives, just as chatbots have. And the country leading the charge is China, where the government has pledged to invest more than £100bn in robotics over the next 20 years. To find out how robots are already entering the workforce, and what needs to happen to get them cleaning our homes and weeding our gardens, Ian Sample hears from the Guardian's senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, and from Nathan Lepora, professor of robotics and AI at Bristol University, who researches how robots can achieve human-like dexterity

The world's carmakers are struggling to compete with China Global carmakers are facing a reckoning as US, European and Japanese brands lose ground to Chinese rivals setting the pace not only in electric vehicles, but also in batteries, design and software. The BBC visited factory floors in Beijing and Hefei on the sidelines of Auto China 2026 - the world's largest car show - and found striking levels of automation and software development speed, leaving foreign brands that once dominated the Chinese market struggling to keep up. We have no chance against this, Honda chief executive Toshihiro Mibe told Japanese media after visiting a highly automated factory in Shanghai. Ford chief executive Jim Farley has also warned that Western carmakers, are in a fight for our lives as Chinese rivals expand globally. After decades spent investing in joint ventures with Chinese partners to build vehicles, foreign carmakers are now changing the nature of those partnerships to stay competitive.

People visit an Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. China is restricting overseas travel for top AI professionals in private firms such as Alibaba Group and DeepSeek, suggesting an escalation in measures intended to safeguard its technology and catch up to the U.S. in a pivotal sphere. Government agencies have begun imposing restrictions on individuals involved in advanced AI work and considered strategically important to the country, people familiar with the matter said. That means they need approval from relevant authorities before embarking on overseas travel, the people said, asking for anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. Beijing has for years imposed travel restrictions on key personnel from prominent college researchers to nuclear scientists and executives at state firms.

Once-speculative concerns about the technology have now become pressing matters. AI has ascended to the role of main character. When Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for an historic summit last week, AI was one of the central topics of his discussions with Xi Jinping. As the two nations remain locked in a technological arms race, the president brought along some of the United States' most powerful AI executives, including Elon Musk and Nvidia's Jensen Huang. A continent away, the European Union has been unsuccessfully petitioning Anthropic to grant access to its advanced cybersecurity model, Mythos. Back in the United States, millions of students and teachers are dealing with the fallout of a devastating ransomware attack on the software platform Canvas--a hack that was likely aided by AI tools.

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Russian drones have hit two ships in the Black Sea approaching ports in Ukraine's Odesa region, including a Chinese-owned cargo vessel, one day before Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Beijing to meet Xi Jinping. Ukraine's seaports authority said the strikes hit two civilian vessels on Monday, one under a Marshall Islands flag and the other under Guinea-Bissau's flag, both of which were heading to ports in the region. It posted a photograph of the ship showing its name with one of its sides partially charred. Russia has regularly attacked civilian vessels in the port area of Odesa, a vital maritime hub for Ukrainian agricultural exports, since it invaded Ukraine four years ago . Monday's attack comes just before Putin's two-day trip to Beijing, where he is to have talks with Chinese President Xi.

The Trump-Xi Beijing summit exposed deepening U.S.-China Cold War realities, with Taiwan tensions, Iran divisions and AI competition defining the rivalry's dangerous trajectory.

The President swept off to Beijing to court Xi Jinping. Back Stateside, it was non-Presidential motorcades, video games, and a languid vibe at the White House. The endless motorcades and wail of sirens in Washington this week made it seem as if the President were travelling non-stop around the city, or receiving a bevy of foreign dignitaries. As it happened, it was National Police Week, and the ceremonial convoys were carrying the families of police officers who had been killed in the line of duty. Donald Trump was leaving for China.

President Trump arrives in Beijing to meet Xi Jinping with a stronger hand, citing military moves, trade deals and the lowest U.S.-China trade deficit since 2004.

Who are the US CEOs in China with Trump, and what's in it for them? More than a dozen United States business leaders have joined President Donald Trump on his state visit to China, where he is discussing issues including trade, technology and artificial intelligence (AI) with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, Trump introduced the group by telling Xi that they were all "distinguished representatives from the American business community" who "all respect and value China", according to China's Xinhua news agency. The Chinese president responded by welcoming more "mutually beneficial cooperation" and assured them that American companies "will have broader prospects in China". The visit comes amid a long-simmering trade war between the two countries, after Trump's sweeping tariffs last year triggered tit-for-tat levies that exceeded 100 percent.

As Trump visits Beijing for his first China trip since 2017, the U.S. and China are accelerating toward a new Cold War centered on AI, chips, data and digital control.