In 2016 Xtep launched the first‑generation racing 160, a landmark start to Xtep's push into top‑level running shoes. Since then, Xtep's launches have focused on iterative upgrades of the 160X. The narrative for domestic running shoes has been almost monopolized by the word "racing": who is faster, who is lighter, who breaks more records.

A decade later, the Xtep 160X Champion series has helped 168 Chinese athletes win 727 marathon titles (as of June 2026). At the 2026 Tokyo Marathon, 丰配友 wore the Xtep 160X 7.0 PRO to set a national record of 2:05:58. This was the fourth national record broken by Xtep shoes within three years. Since 2023, Xtep has been the most‑worn brand at Chinese marathons for three consecutive years.

On the racing track, Xtep has already moved to the front.

But a brand's ambition can't stop there. Once technical accumulation in racing reaches a certain height, how can those technologies benefit a wider audience? How do you reach ordinary runners who aren't chasing sub‑3‑hour times but simply want a comfortable run? These were the questions Xtep had to answer at its ten‑year mark.

The launch of the "Zero Cloud Cushioning Flagship" is the answer to that question.

Shifting from "single core" to "dual flagships" is not just an expansion of product lines—it's an elevation of brand strategy. From serving elite runners to embracing mass‑market runners, from a single racing focus to a network that covers all scenarios.

This year's launch was more than a product reveal; it was an immersive brand experience.

Under the concept "RUN TO X — Run into unlimited possibilities," the event concentrated different running scenes—professional racing, easy cushioning, daily training, urban style—creating an enterable, experiential, runnable X‑CITY: "Xtep All‑Scenario Running City." All attendees were invited to become "Xtep urban explorers," immersing themselves in diverse scenes and interactive installations to experience Xtep's full‑scenario product matrix.

The experiential venue was divided into five major zones, with the 160X Racing Art Museum and the Zero Cloud Zero‑Gravity Tech Pavilion occupying the core positions.The dual‑flagship layout was clear from the venue setup.

The X-LAB tech exhibition presented the full scope of Xtep's Champion Technology platform; the Trend Capsule Station and the Two-Thousand-Kilometer Runners' Park served as complementary displays within the full-scene matrix, together sketching Xtep's complete ecosystem—from running shoes to apparel, from racing to training.

Unlike previous years' launches that focused on a single racing product, this year's "Run to X" event sent a clear signal: Xtep doesn't want to be a brand only for elite runners.

The launch featured two show stages: one focused on professional racing, the other aimed at everyday runners and lifestyle scenarios. This "split-in-two" spatial design is itself a statement:Racing is for racing, life is for life—but both belong to Xtep.

The guest lineup similarly reflected the "professional-to-public" extension. In addition to contracted athletes and marathon elites—the "professional faces"—the event also invited many celebrities and public figures, such asMeyer Musk, Fan Chengcheng, Wang Dongcheng, Enli, Ouyang Didi and Zhu Xunand others, along with fashion bloggers, fitness influencers, and urban white-collar runners—a diverse mix.

The 5 km riverside night run after the launch pushed the atmosphere to a climax: hundreds of runners wearing Xtep's new products set off together on the West Bank riverside trail—an authentic embodiment of "Run to X" moving from slogan to practice.

Back to the twin flagship series themselves: both labeled "world-class," yet each carries its own meaning.

The newly upgraded 160X Gen 8 series completes a three-tier racing lineup with GT1200/GT700/T700, covering the full spectrum of runners from elite to advanced.

160X 8.0 ULTRA — the world's top carbon. 

This is the world’s first racing carbon-plated shoe to use the T1200 "gold" carbon plate. Behind this plate is a key breakthrough in China’s high-end carbon-fiber sector: Zhongfu Shenying SYT80 (T1200 grade) made its global debut and entered hundred-ton-scale mass production, breaking a 40-year foreign monopoly. Tensile strength reaches up to 8000 MPa, with a density only one quarter that of steel. The midsole uses, for the first time, a three-layer XTEP ACE+ supercritical injection-molded midsole; a single shoe in size 41 weighs just 182 g.

160X 8.0 PRO — top carbon, lighter and stronger. 

Equipped with the GT700 carbon plate and an upgraded plate geometry, a single size-41 shoe weighs only 179 g—17% lighter than the previous generation. It also features a gender-specific last for female runners. Based on in-depth research into female foot shape and muscle-strength characteristics, it is scientifically customized to address issues common in women, such as hallux valgus tendency and narrow, flat foot profiles.

160X 8.0 Standard — sub-top carbon, steady to win.

Fitted with the T700 carbon plate, it pioneers a gait-guiding carbon-plate design that corrects landing force lines and reduces sports injuries. Size 41 is as light as 184 g; its positioning targets advanced runners aiming for full-marathon times beyond 3:30.

All three models feature the XTEP DURA marathon-grade CPU outsole, with abrasion endurance exceeding 2,000 km. The "Chasing Light" colorway runs through the lineup, inspired by the first sliver of golden light that pierces the darkness at dawn.

If the 160X Gen 8 is a continuation of Xtep's racing strength, the Lingyun series represents Xtep's new direction.

Before officially launching the Zero Cloud series, Xtep had already accumulated ample market experience and technical validation through cushioning lines like "Qingyun." The launch of the Zero Cloud series signals that the cushioning product line is now mature enough to have the confidence to become a "world-class" new flagship.

The Zero Cloud series includes Zero Cloud MAX (super-cushion running shoe) and Zero Cloud (flagship cushioning running shoe). Its core is the industry's first "XTEP FLOAT Zero-Gravity Technology." By building a new cushioning-shoe form around a "0-gravity cockpit" feel, it allows the feet to move and relax freely across different activity states. This technology has received authoritative certification from the Sports and Health Science Research Center at Tsinghua University.

The logic of the zero-gravity technology is based on large-scale foot-shape data for Asian feet and deeply optimizes last design to ensure the foot's natural, relaxed posture inside the shoe cavity during low-pace running, walking, and standing.

Supporting this concept is the "U-shaped support cockpit" three-zone pressure-distribution system: an arched footbed balances pressure across the sole; a cockpit-style shoe cavity increases depth and expands 360° contact area; and a comfortable, responsive upper ensures even pressure on sensitive areas such as the instep, the area above the toe joints, and the inner side of the arch.

Zero Cloud MAX:The U-shaped-support cockpit midsole provides all-around support; cloud-like cushioning modules are zoned to dissipate landing impact; a dual-layer, dual-density supercritical midsole finely tunes the three-way balance of cushioning, rebound and stability; a single shoe in size 41 weighs only 235 g. It is positioned for runners up to 20KM and recreational runners for easy runs and daily commuting.

Zero Cloud:A supercritical midsole combined with a new nano noise-dampening outsole results in quiet performance on smooth surfaces, making it suitable for runners up to 10KM and for daily commuting.

After ten years of accumulation, the 160X series has gone head-to-head with top global brands on professional stages like the marathon, proving the "world-class" strength of Chinese running shoes through record-breaking results and widespread adoption.

And the newly launchedtheZero Cloud series is Xtep's effort to let hundreds of millions of recreational runners worldwide experience China's top cushioning technology. "Stand, walk, run, jump—wear for long periods without fatigue": the ambition packed into these eight characters for the Zero Cloud series is "world-class" both in product experience and user scale.

04

From a single core to dual flagships:

A strategic "expansion"

Why is the launch of "dual flagships" so important?

Looking back at the development of Xtep's running business, the 160X series has always been the undisputed protagonist. That strategy has been proven successful over the past decade. By maintaining leadership in racing products, Xtep established professional recognition as "China's number-one running brand." From record-breaking performances to the highest adoption among wearers, Xtep's voice in the professional running community is firmly established.

But a brand's growth cannot only serve the elite at the tip of the pyramid.

In 2022 Xtep proposed the "world-class Chinese running shoe" strategy and, thanks to the 160X series, achieved notable results in the professional racing field. However, to become a truly "world-class" brand that serves the masses, racing shoes alone are not enough.

China's running population is rapidly expanding. According to industry data, the domestic running population has exceeded 400 million, but most of those runners aren't aiming to go sub-3; they want to run for health, comfort, and injury-free. They need more than a track racing shoe—they need a durable, everyday cushioning shoe.

That is precisely the strategic value of the Zero Cloud series. The racing line defends the professional moat, while the cushioning line opens the mass market.From a "single-core" strategy to a "dual-flagship" system, Xtep has achieved full coverage of the runners' pyramid from its pinnacle to its base.

Xtep's development logic has always been "professional influence for the masses" — systematically converting elite competitive achievements into product strength for the mass market. Technologies and data proven on the 160X series in competition will ultimately feed back into mass-market lines like the 零云系列 and the 2,000-km series. Advanced tech is first validated on racing flagships, then "trickled down" to cushioning flagships and training products, allowing everyday runners to experience a democratized version of championship technology.

Once this loop is closed, Xtep will no longer be just a "record-breaking running brand" but a "running brand for everyone."

The launch theme "Run to X" may have another reading. X isn't a specific product — it's every person who is running.