'OpenClaw' booms in China, AI research institute releases OpenClaw installation support tool, and long lines form in Shenzhen to set up OpenClaw



OpenClaw , released in November 2025 by Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger, is an open-source AI agent platform that autonomously performs tasks such as managing email and checking in for trips on behalf of users. Nicknamed 'raising lobsters,' OpenClaw has become explosively popular, particularly in China, leading to large subsidies from local governments and a surge in the stock prices of related companies. However, concerns are also growing about privacy violations and serious security risks.

OpenClaw AI Mania Fires up Chinese Tech Leaders, Cloud Stocks - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-09/china-s-openclaw-tied-stocks-rise-on-policy-support-adoption

The OpenClaw superfan meetup serves optimism and lobster | The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/890517/openclaw-clawcon-meetup-nyc-open-source-ai

Chinese local governments offer OpenClaw project subsidies as security questions linger | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3345986/chinese-local-governments-offer-openclaw-project-subsidies-security-questions-linger

Local governments in China are actively promoting OpenClaw, with the Longgang district of Shenzhen proposing subsidies of up to 2 million RMB (approximately USD 456,000), and Wuxi city in Jiangsu province announcing subsidies of 1 million to 5 million RMB (approximately USD 114 million) to encourage innovative applications such as industrial visual inspection and equipment maintenance.

The market has responded sensitively to these developments, with stock prices for related companies such as UCloud Technology, QingCloud Technologies, and Hangzhou Shunwang Technology soaring by around 20%. Major Chinese technology companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu have also launched services that allow users to easily implement OpenClaw on their cloud platforms.



Outside Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen, a Tencent programmer set up a booth offering free setup of OpenClaw, and people were queuing up with their laptops.



Chinese technology journalist Po Zhao believes that the boom in OpenClaw in China is driven not by a technology craze, but by concerns about the job market, and that the popularity of OpenClaw will lead to increased demand for cloud computing and more calls to model APIs, helping companies like Tencent and Alibaba to generate more revenue.



On the other hand, regulatory authorities such as China's National Vulnerability Database (NVDB) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have remained cautious, citing the possibility that improper configuration of OpenClaw could lead to cyber attacks and the leakage of personal information. It has been pointed out that OpenClaw requires extensive system privileges, including the ability to read and write local files, to perform its tasks, creating a serious trade-off between usability and privacy.

In fact, there have been reported cases where agents have become uncontrollable and sent large numbers of messages, or deleted emails without the user's permission. According to expert analysis, it has been reported that approximately 15% of the skills provided contain malicious instructions aimed at obtaining credentials, etc., which means that they are facing a 'fatal triple whammy' in terms of security.

Despite these risks, hundreds of enthusiasts gather at social events like 'ClawCon' in New York, and support OpenClaw as a grassroots 'movement' that sees it as a countermeasure to the monopolies of major AI companies. Although there was some unrest whendeveloper Steinberger joined OpenAI, the strength of the open source project is that the community itself can fix bugs and continue to improve it.

As OpenClaw users explore applications ranging from automating clerical tasks in neuroscience labs to collecting e-commerce data, experts recommend approaching the autonomous agents with a 'less trust, more verification' attitude.

・Continued
Chinese state-owned enterprises and government agencies are restricting the use of OpenClaw in office environments, as security concerns grow as OpenClaw usage spreads across China - GIGAZINE

Related Posts:

in AI,   Video, Posted by log1i_yk