Some robots ran the Beijing half-marathon autonomously, while others were controlled remotely, all competing on a parallel course to avoid collisions with human athletes.

BEIJING — A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps.

The victory of Lightning, built by Chinese smartphone brand Honor, marked a “significant step forward from last year’s inaugural race,” when the winning robot “finished in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 s...