Airlangga: Indonesia Can Catch Up in AI After Visiting Shanghai Expo

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto believes Indonesia can catch up in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics compared to China’s current capabilities. “China has been extraordinary in their application of AI and robotics, so Indonesia must catch up with what they are doing,” Airlangga said in Shanghai on Saturday. He made the statement while visiting several booths at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, held from 17 to 20 July 2026. WAIC has been held since 2018 and is one of the largest gatherings in the fields of AI, intelligent computing, and embodied intelligence. The 2026 conference took place across three locations in Shanghai, featuring 1,400 speakers from home and abroad, including nine Nobel and Turing Award laureates, as well as business leaders and policymakers. The exhibition involved 1,100 companies showcasing 3,000 products and technologies, including more than 300 products making their global debut. “The development of their robotics industry has truly advanced and possesses extraordinary flexibility, especially for various tasks that can be performed using robots,” Airlangga said. He added that he would report his findings from the exhibition, along with his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, to President Prabowo Subianto. “We will certainly report that we must not be left behind in the development of AI, especially in robotics and the renewable energy sector,” Airlangga stated. At the exhibition, he visited at least three booths. The first was Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based robotics company founded in 2016, which focuses on the research, development, production, and sale of high-performance legged and humanoid robots for consumer and industrial use. Its products include the Go, A, and B series quadruped robots, as well as humanoid robots such as the H1, G1, and H2. Unitree gained fame for its performance at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala celebrating Chinese New Year, where in 2026 its G1 and H2 robots performed an autonomous kung fu show including complex movements like backflips, parkour, and a “Drunken Fist” choreography. The second booth visited was Deep Robotics, also based in Hangzhou and founded in 2017, which produces robotic systems and core components, focusing on quadruped and humanoid robots for industrial, automation, and research applications. Their flagship products are the Jueying series robots, designed for tasks such as power grid inspection, search and rescue, and hazardous environment monitoring. The third booth was Connected and Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd (CICT), a state-owned enterprise under the China Information Technology Group focusing on intelligent connected vehicles and smart transportation. Established in 2012, CICT is involved in the research of technical standards, product development, and market promotion of C-V2X technology, as well as integrated solutions for vehicle-road collaboration, intelligent connectivity, autonomous driving, and smart cockpits.