A Chinese official said Friday that China’s advanced humanoid robots will not cause large numbers of people to lose their jobs. Instead, he explained, these robots will help people and work in dangerous places.

The official, Liang Liang, is a deputy director in a major technology area in Beijing. He spoke to foreign reporters. China is putting a lot of money into developing these human-like robots very quickly.

Liang Liang said he believes the robots will not replace the humans who created them. He said they will make work faster and do jobs that are risky, like exploring deep parts of the ocean or space where people cannot easily go.

“We think robots will make things more efficient and do jobs people don't want to do,” Liang said. “Machines can help us explore.”

He added that robots can work at night when people need to rest. This would help make products “better, cheaper, and more user-friendly.” He sees this as an important part of China’s future plans.

A report by Reuters explained, to show this idea, Liang mentioned the world’s first robot half-marathon held recently in Beijing. He said it was planned to show that robots will support humans, not replace them.

In the race, there were two separate tracks. Humans raced against each other on one side. On the other side, 20 teams controlled different robots that raced.

“In the marathon, humans pushed their own physical limits on their track,” Liang explained. “The machines challenged their limits on their track. They weren’t trying to take over the human race to finish first. The future will be like this.”

Liang spoke to reporters at the place where the Tiangong Ultra robot was developed. This robot won the half-marathon and is from a state-supported centre.

Besides the fast Ultra robot, which can run up to 12 kilometers per hour, the centre showed other robots. These robots are being taught to do everyday tasks even when things get in their way or the environment changes.

For example, in one test, a worker kept moving a piece of trash or taking it from the robot. The robot kept finding the trash and finishing the task. The centre says this ability to fix their own mistakes is key to making robots helpful workers.

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