Photo released on August 9, 2026 shows tourists from Jamaica interacting with a humanoid robot at the world"s first robot 6S store in Longgang District, Shenzhen, South China"s Guangdong Province, on August 4. Photo: Xinhua

　　Following the trend of "reverse overseas shopping" — where foreign tourists arrive in China with empty suitcases for shopping sprees — an increasing number of overseas clients are now coming to China on business trips in search of the latest technology solutions and next-generation products.

　　Chinese experts said that it reflects China"s comprehensive upgrade from making products to building up innovation capability, thanks to the country"s efficient supply chains and rich application scenarios, which will continue to provide good opportunities for global companies.

　　"We"ve recently hosted a number of foreign companies, including ones from Europe such as Germany and the UK, Southeast Asia, and South Korea. Almost everyone who comes asks similar questions: Why has China"s development — especially in artificial intelligence and robotics — been so fast? And what can they learn from it and actually put into practice?" Liu Shaoshan, director of the Embodied AI at the Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society based in South China"s Guangdong Province, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

　　These foreign clients usually visited robot 6S stores in Shenzhen, toured robot exhibition halls, listened to our introductions of specific companies, and then received recommendations on which ones to approach for concrete discussions on collaboration, Liu said.