Qiao Zhongliang: Rebuilding the industrial foundation

ushering in a new era of the "embodiment dividend"

Qiao Zhongliang, founder of Beijing Xiaoyubot Technology Co., Ltd., called on all parties to jointly rebuild the industrial foundation and usher in a new era of the "embodiment dividend," truly making an embodied-intelligence labor force into infrastructure that everyone can share and that is available everywhere.

Xinhua Finance, Beijing, July 4 (Feng Rui) — On the 3rd, the First Digital Economy Opportunity Annual Conference of the 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference was held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. Qiao Zhongliang, founder of Beijing Xiaoyubot Technology Co., Ltd. ("Xiaoyubot"), delivered a keynote address, calling on all parties to jointly rebuild the industrial foundation and usher in a new era of the "embodiment dividend," truly making an embodied-intelligence labor force into infrastructure that everyone can share and that is available everywhere.

Defining the "embodiment dividend"

What is the "embodiment dividend"? In Qiao Zhongliang's view, standing at a new starting point in history, China's manufacturing industry urgently needs a new source of dividends, and the embodied-intelligence industry should shoulder the mission of the era — transforming from a beneficiary of dividends into a creator of them. He said the "embodiment dividend" means using embodied intelligence to build a large-scale, silicon-based labor force that enters factories, mines, shipyards and space to take on work that humans are unwilling to do, cannot do well, or cannot do at all.

Since its founding in Beijing's Zhongguancun in 2023, Xiaoyubot has focused on the R&D of a "One Brain, Multiple Forms" general-purpose robot brain and its industrial-application products, and has filed more than 80 invention patents. The company currently focuses on the industrial welding scenario, and its products have entered the mass-production and delivery stage.

A path both "right" and "just"

Being "right" and being "just" have always been the path Xiaoyubot has firmly chosen. "Anchored in the opportunities of the capital, Xiaoyubot' undertaking has only just begun. We have chosen a path that is both right and just — that is, to set out from the harshest industrial scenarios and move step by step toward the endgame of general-purpose embodied intelligence," Qiao Zhongliang said.

How should "right" be understood? Qiao Zhongliang believes that "right" lies first in the judgment of the industry's endgame and the choice of the industry's route. He noted that competition in the embodied-intelligence industry is fierce but its infrastructure is weak, and the core problem is the lack of a "super hit product." He judged that annual shipments of 5,000 to 10,000 units are merely the threshold for entering the first tier; over the next decade, perhaps only around ten domestic companies will be able to enter the "finals" of general-purpose embodied intelligence, and securing a ticket to those "finals" requires annual shipments reaching 100,000 units.

So where will the "super hit product" be born? Qiao Zhongliang believes the answer can be found by looking back at the history of technological development — major technological innovations are always first applied in production and only later popularized in daily life. Therefore, in his view, industrial production is by nature the best testing ground for embodied intelligence; industrial scenarios can establish business models and generate real application data, and are thus most likely to give birth to a "super hit product." To reach the endgame, Xiaoyubot has firmly chosen the industry route of "industrial deployment" — and specifically heavy industry within industry.

How should "just" be understood? Qiao Zhongliang said that "justice" is embodied at three levels: first, humanistic justice — using embodied intelligence to completely liberate humans from dangerous, arduous and repetitive labor and improve the living conditions of frontline workers; second, technological justice — breaking through the ceiling of industrial automation in non-standard scenarios and meeting broader industrialization needs with a new form of productivity; and third, strategic justice — using the "embodiment dividend" to strengthen the moat of Chinese manufacturing and shore up the foundations of the nation's core competitiveness and economic security.

Embracing the opportunities of the capital

Speaking of the development of Beijing's embodied-intelligence industry, Qiao Zhongliang said the capital is a fertile ground that has patience and sincerity toward embodied intelligence, providing all-around support for entrepreneurship in the field — from policy platforms, capital and scenarios to the ecosystem. As an important force in the buildup of new quality productive forces, Xiaoyubot will actively embrace the opportunities of the capital and, together with Beijing, continue to stand at the forefront of industrialization.

The First Digital Economy Opportunity Annual Conference of the 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference was hosted by the Organizing Committee of the Global Digital Economy Conference and co-organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, China Economic Information Service, Economic Information Daily, the Beijing Branch of Xinhua News Agency, and the Fund of Funds Chapter of the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Association. Themed "Gathering Wisdom to Seek Opportunities, Empowering the Future," the conference featured core segments including keynote speeches, achievement releases and patient-capital roadshow matchmaking, jointly exploring new development opportunities for people, enterprises and cities in the age of the digital economy.