If humanoid robots are the future, then Elon Musk faces a formidable Chinese rival.

China's Unitree Robotics surged 460% on its trading debut in Shanghai Wednesday, giving the company a market capitalization of around $51 billion.

Unitree's new humanoid robot has gone viral recently, appearing to beat Usain Bolt's fastest speed and jump higher than a human.

It's a direct rival to Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, while Amazon has also made moves in the space acquiring robot maker startup Fauna Robotics in March.

The successful IPO follows the impressive debut by Chinese memory-chip maker CXMT last month, which soared 466% on its first day of trading.

"It's not just AI where China is seeking to rival higher profile players in the West. The closely associated robotics industry is another area where the world's second largest economy is making strides," AJ Bell's head of markets, Dan Coatsworth, said in a note.

"Unitree is shipping an increasing number of humanoid robots, with more established companies like Amazon, Tesla and BYD nursing their own ambitions in this space," he added.