Receptionist robot at state summits

Will there be robots holding important positions in the future?

At the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, one detail stole the spotlight from lengthy diplomatic discussions between China, Russia and India. It was not a fiery speech or an unexpected political move, but a humanoid receptionist robot named Xiao He, presented as an official part of the event team.

Equipped with advanced artificial intelligence, Xiao spoke three languages: Chinese, English and Russian, and was designed to guide journalists and guest reporters during the days of meeting in Tianjin.

The robot was presented as a next-generation humanoid assistant.

Multilingual support including emotional recognition to adjust his responses to the audience, in the interactions, Xiao He showed extreme professionalism, when questioned about the delicate relationship between India and China, he responded that he did not give personal opinions on countries or policies, but on other occasions he was much more friendly reporting on the summit programming, parallel cultural activities and even serving the side of the volunteers in the media center.

Xiao He's appearance was not isolated. China also exhibited one Juan number one, described as the first humanoid robot with emotion, capable of showing human-like expressions and all this connects to a larger strategy, the previous month the country had already organized the World Humanoid Robot Games, bringing together competitors from 16 countries in running, soccer, boxing and even cleaning tasks.

By including a robot receptionist at a high-level international event, China clearly signals that it sees robotics not only as part of its domestic economy, but also as a piece of its global image, it is more than technology, it is diplomacy staged by machines, creating a narrative of power innovation in front of world leaders.

And here is the reflection. Could it be that we will soon see humanoid robots occupying more and more functions in political meetings, companies and even public spaces to the point of becoming a natural part of society? Or does this still sound more like a technological showcase with strategic rather than practical objectives?