Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Feb 26, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Plane of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz taxiing
2. Various of Merz, delegation getting off plane, greeting officials
3. Various of Merz getting in vehicle
4. Various of Merz, delegation watching robotics performances of Chinese firm Unitree Robotics; products on display
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Claudia Berger-Koch, managing director, HPP Architects:
"I'm really impressed how deeply these robots function. I mean we always heard (about) it, but seeing it here in real life is really, really impressive."
6. Various of Merz, delegation visiting Siemens Energy site in Hangzhou; talking to staff members

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid a visit to the eastern Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday, where he saw some of the innovations being developed by leading Chinese robotics firm Unitree and stopped by sites operated by German tech multinational Siemens Energy.

Merz had arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a two-day official visit. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang met and held talks with Merz on that day, respectively.

The chancellor, who is being accompanied by top executives from 30 German firms, continued his China trip on Thursday with a visit to the Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, whose innovative humanoid robot creations have gathered significant global attention.

Merz listened to introductions about some of the cutting-edge robot components being produced by the company before he was treated to a robot boxing demonstration, and a live performance of a segment of the dynamic robot martial arts display that was featured during the 2026 China Media Group Spring Festival Gala, broadcast on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

Members of the German delegation who joined the Unitree tour said they were delighted to get an up-close look at these high-tech robots in action.

"I'm really impressed how deeply these robots function. I mean we always heard (about) it, but seeing it here in real life is really, really impressive," said Claudia Berger-Koch, managing director of the Dusseldorf-based HPP Architects.

Merz and the delegation then visited a site run by Siemens Energy, where he learned about the company's operations in China and toured its circuit breaker production workshop.

Siemens has carried out extensive cooperation with Chinese partners in areas such as energy development, transformation and innovation. It was also among the first firms to invest in south China's Hainan Province after the launch of the island-wide special customs operations as part of the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hainan FTP) in December last year.