But even before this month, China has been turning to high-profile events to showcase its tech, including a robot half-marathon and dancing humanoid robots during its Lunar New Year’s Eve TV gala, watched by hundreds of millions of people, according to The New York Times.

The 100-metre sprint was won by a machine with a time of 21.50 seconds. It was one of many events at the games, which saw 280 competing teams from 16 countries.