America has turned humanoid robots into the newest battleground in its technology conflict with China. The Trump administration has blocked new Chinese humanoid machines, four-legged models, and connected inverters from the U.S. market.

According to Reuters, officials said the rules are intended to keep equipment that could be hacked, watched, or shut down from abroad away from sensitive systems. The move also supports Washington’s broader effort to rebuild strategic manufacturing. Chinese companies already lead much of the young humanoid robotics market, which makes access rules especially consequential for developers, universities, industrial buyers, and the supply chains that support them. Inverters connect solar panels, batteries, electric grids, and data centers, placing them in the same AI supply chain as chips, cloud services, and industrial software.

FCC warns Chinese robots threaten US security

The Federal Communications Commission announced the restrictions on Tuesday afternoon. The agency said Chinese connected machines could create weak points in U.S. supply chains and infrastructure, allowing foreign operators to collect data, interrupt work, or control equipment remotely.

“These devices could create supply chain vulnerabilities that could disrupt U.S. economic and national security and could create a cybersecurity risk that threatens American critical infrastructure,” the FCC said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr added, “The FCC will continue to do our part to secure America’s critical supply chains.”

Unitree could be among the companies most affected. Counterpoint Research estimates that the private Chinese company holds just under 20% of the global humanoid robots market. It is one of three Chinese manufacturers leading the sector.

The Pentagon recently listed Unitree among businesses it says have Chinese military backing. That designation carries no automatic penalty, but it often comes before stricter U.S. action.

Unitree has also partnered with Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) to use Blackwell chips in its machines. Nvidia said the information produced by the robots would remain in the United States. The company added that Unitree’s main American customers are universities and research institutions.

Supporters of tighter security controls say cameras, microphones, sensors, location tools, and network connections can map workplaces, record routines, inspect equipment, and examine how industrial sites operate. That is part of why the debate has spread beyond consumer gadgets and into manufacturing, energy, logistics, and research settings where connected robots could be embedded in day-to-day operations.

“Robots collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots,” the FCC said.

U.S. Representative John Moolenaar, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, has proposed security reviews and possible bans for Chinese robots. He said the FCC decision “protects our country and strengthens our nation’s robotics industry.”

China rejected the policy. Its Washington embassy urged U.S. officials to listen to businesses in both countries and stop threatening Chinese companies with sanctions. Beijing said it would take whatever steps it considers necessary if the restrictions seriously harm Chinese interests.

AI rivalry goes beyond chatbots

The competition also extends to open AI models, advanced chips, training methods, and allegations that American intellectual property was taken.

Anthropic founder and CEO Dario Amodei denied that his company wants Washington to ban open-weight Chinese models or open systems generally.

“Anthropic has never advocated for a ban on open-weight models,” Dario wrote Monday.

He said his concern is that authoritarian governments could build AI systems stronger than those in the United States. According to Dario, such technology could create permanent military superiority or help those governments repress their citizens. He said the Chinese Communist Party is not his only concern, but described it as the most capable.

Dario supports tighter limits on China’s access to powerful chips. He also wants formal action against distillation, a method that transfers knowledge from one AI model to another. The United States has threatened sanctions if investigators find intellectual property theft involving American models.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg opposes model bans. Cryptopolitan recently reported that Mark told reporters blocking advanced Chinese AI would not be an effective response. He also warned against “regulatory capture,” which occurs when large American laboratories shape regulations in ways that hurt smaller domestic competitors.

Officials are meanwhile reportedly looking at Volt Typhoon, a Chinese government-linked cyber campaign disclosed in 2023. Attackers hijacked privately owned routers and used them to conceal later attacks on American infrastructure.

The Defense Department already cannot buy solar cells, solar modules, or inverters made by foreign entities of concern, including Chinese companies, under existing federal procurement rules for military purchases. The new move extends that security logic beyond defense contracting and into a wider slice of the technology ecosystem now tied to robotics and AI.