Taipei/Beijing
At China’s hot new technology event, lobsters are everywhere: lobster balloons, lobster headbands, stuffed lobsters in crane games, and even a live lobster in an inflatable kiddie pool.
But the people who flock to meet-and-greets aren’t here for that. Crustaceans – They’re here for the new technology they represent: OpenClaw, an autonomous artificial intelligence tool. It can be programmed to take full control of the user’s device and perform tasks non-stop.
Rather than a simple question-and-answer format like most AI chatbots, OpenClaw uses the same underlying technology to independently interact with apps, web browsers, or smart home appliances based on commands through commonly used messaging apps like WhatsApp.
Created by Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger and released in November, this free AI agent has been hailed as a new way to dramatically improve productivity. Jensen Huang, CEO of US semiconductor giant Nvidia, called it “the next ChatGPT” and “the most popular open source project in human history.”
In China, OpenClaw has received a particularly enthusiastic reception among AI enthusiasts and novices. China has more OpenClaw users than any other country, and about twice as much activity as the next-largest user base, the United States, according to an analysis of the world’s public networks by New York-based cybersecurity firm SecurityScorecard.
Both technology companies and local communities have organized rallies for “lobster farming” (a term often used in China to describe OpenClaw adoption), with some major cities drawing as many as 1,000 participants. On Chinese e-commerce sites, technical experts sell OpenClaw installation and configuration services for between $7 and $100.
The hype around OpenClaw has prompted other Chinese technology conglomerates to launch their own versions with names like DuClaw, QClaw, and ArkClaw. Local governments have also jumped on the bandwagon, pledging to subsidize companies that use virtual AI assistants to boost local development.
OpenClaw’s early success exemplifies how official adoption of advanced technology can translate into grassroots enthusiasm as the Chinese government pursues domestic growth and an ambitious global agenda. But this push comes with concerns about cybersecurity risks and the potential for widespread employee turnover.
Amid a flurry of cybersecurity warnings from Chinese authorities, two state-backed cybersecurity agencies again warned last week that OpenClaw could pose “significant security risks,” including remote hijacking and data leaks. They have released detailed safety guidelines for all users, from individuals to businesses to cloud providers.
“Everyone believes that AI will transform every industry. It’s only a matter of time,” says Jimi Jin, 33, a project manager from Shenzhen who primarily uses OpenClaw to manage his work files. “This is not about being hardworking or ambitious, but rather a desperate self-help strategy to avoid being left behind.”
The type of automation OpenClaw provides is fueling hopes for increased efficiency in China. In a 2025 KPMG survey, 93% of respondents said they were already using AI in their work.
By comparison, the United States has adopted a more cautious stance toward OpenClaw and other AI tools. KPMG’s survey found that U.S. respondents were more worried than optimistic about AI, with only 35% saying the benefits outweighed the risks, compared to 69% in China.
Corki Xie, a 27-year-old software engineer in Beijing, installed OpenClaw a month ago and uses it to reply to work messages, analyze data, and post articles on social media.
“The efficiency gains are huge,” he said, but added that he had encountered some mistakes.
Xie, who works for a major Chinese technology company, said internet companies, including his employer, are “actively” encouraging the use of AI and linking OpenClaw to work performance.
OpenClaw’s arrival coincides with a slowdown in China’s economy that is exacerbating youth unemployment and sluggish domestic consumption, with the Chinese government forecasting the slowest growth rate in decades in 2026.
Major Chinese companies such as consumer electronics brand Haier and electric vehicle maker XPeng are touting plans to incorporate AI into their products and business operations.
Local governments are also looking to OpenClaw to support economic development and entrepreneurship. Wuxi, a technology and manufacturing hub in eastern Jiangsu province, is funding up to 5 million yuan, or about $726,000, for projects based on new AI agents.
But some early adopters worry that AI will worsen an already difficult labor market.
Gao Jiahui, a 20-year-old software engineering student in Tianjin, once dreamed of becoming a programmer after graduation. Now she worries that the job she has prepared for will be gone by then.
“AI is advancing so fast that they may not need me for simple coding tasks anymore,” said Gao, who paid $18 to attend an event in Beijing to learn how to use OpenClaw. “(That) anxiety is a big motivator for me to learn about it and adopt it.”
OpenClaw’s rapid adoption in China is also likely to contribute to its rapid replacement of white-collar jobs, according to Sun Lichao, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.
“Standardized, repetitive tasks, especially any kind of collaboration that involves writing code, have lost 100% of their value,” says Sun, who says that thanks to AI, doctoral students need less human collaborators for tasks like coding.
“OpenClaw is a game changer and extremely dangerous.”
The eagerness of Chinese companies and individuals to use OpenClaw could be an advantage for China as it aims to become a world leader in AI.
China has made the development of AI a key tenet of its national strategy, aiming to reach a 90% penetration rate in key areas such as science, governance and manufacturing by 2030. But even as China’s AI industry advances at lightning speed, it still appears to be trying to catch up with its American rivals.
Kyle Zhang, a research fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, said open source technologies like OpenClaw have allowed Chinese developers to innovate faster than expected.
The ability for anyone to inspect, modify and enhance models is a “huge element” that will help “quickly transition the broader developer community,” Chan said.
Zhang said that while Chinese companies see OpenClaw as an opportunity to acquire users, US tech giants are wary of introducing cybersecurity risks to their customers and may prefer to develop their own AI agents.
Organizations in both the United States and China have cited security concerns with allowing OpenClaw to access personal accounts such as email, banking, and travel logins, as well as work servers.
One of the warnings issued in March by China’s government-backed National Computer Network Emergency Response Technology Team pointed to “serious security risks” that could lead to the leak of sensitive data from individuals and businesses. For critical industries, these flaws could even “paralyze the entire business system” and cause “incalculable losses,” the notice said.
“They’re always trying to find a balance between these technologies that can bring a lot of opportunities, but they can also bring a lot of risks,” Chan said.
As concerns about cost, security, and performance emerge, services are emerging that offer uninstallation for a fee. Still, vendors of e-commerce sites told CNN that demand for OpenClaw installations far exceeds orders for its removal.
Xin Wang, a 31-year-old e-commerce business specialist, installed OpenClaw on a spare laptop last week and named it JARVIS, after the AI butler in the movie “Iron Man.” But Wang said he would not allow access to work or personal files until it was thoroughly tested.
“In the future, we hope to be completely free from these manual tasks,” Wang said.
In addition to learning how to use OpenClaw, Wang is also considering learning other skills, such as cooking or playing an instrument. He thinks this is a precaution in case AI becomes too sophisticated and he can’t find another job.
