A team from Beijing-based robotics company Noetix won the championship at the first China International Robotics Debate Competition, held on Sunday in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing ETown).

The winning robot faced off against a rival from Hubei University, debating the provocative question of whether robots will one day dominate humanity. Hubei University's team took second place.

Since its launch in October, the contest has drawn 14 teams from universities and enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and other cities. The series of events was hosted in Beijing ETown, a hub for China's rapidly growing robotics and AI industries.

The debate showcased robots' expanding abilities in perception, cognition, and decision-making, reflecting the latest advances in artificial intelligence and human–machine interaction.