China Protests Hard US Ban on Importing Humanoid Robots

A robot made by a Chinese company at the "World Artificial Intelligence Conference" in Shanghai, Saturday (18/7/2026). /ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia.

JAKARTA - The Chinese Foreign Ministry protested the United States' decision to ban the import of advanced robots, namely humanoid robots and four-legged robots, as well as power inverters.

"China firmly opposes the US overstepping the concept of national security and targeting Chinese companies. Protectionism does not make the US more competitive and will only harm the interests of US companies and consumers," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning, at a press conference in Beijing, Wednesday (29/7) reported by ANTARA.

The United States Federal Communications Commission (Federal Communications Commission or FCC) on Tuesday (28/7) announced that advanced robotic devices (advanced robotic devices) defined as mobile robots such as humanoid robots and four-legged robots, as well as inverters (power conversion devices) produced abroad are included in the Restricted Devices List.

The move was taken because the robots and foreign-made power conversion devices, regardless of their country of origin, were judged to "pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the safety and security of US citizens".

"We will continue to do what is necessary to firmly defend the legitimate and lawful interests of Chinese companies," Mao Ning continued.

The US national security agency said there was an unacceptable risk, including the possibility that the device could create supply chain vulnerabilities that could potentially disrupt US economic and national security.

The device is also considered to create cyber security risks that threaten US critical infrastructure.

"Inverters" are said to present additional vulnerabilities as they increase their use in the US power grid as foreign companies either use or turn off "inverters" to illegally collect and release data, facilitate remote access and surveillance by foreign government actors, or use the device as a cyberattack. "Interver" itself is widely used in energy systems such as solar panels, storage batteries, or power grids.

Meanwhile, advanced robotic devices are considered to be connected to the network, creating a wide range of vulnerabilities and various attack paths that can be used to manipulate data. Devices are also considered to be able to collect data that can be used by malicious actors to monitor US citizens, improve the ability of foreign intelligence agencies, or take remote control of robots.

Conditional approval

There are exceptions for advanced robotic devices and power inverters that have obtained a "Conditional Approval" from the US Department of War or, specifically for power inverters, from the US Department of Homeland Security, after the agency concluded that the device or group of devices does not pose an unacceptable risk.

The decision is not retroactive, meaning that users who have already purchased advanced robotic devices or power converters before the announcement was made can still use them and retailers can also continue to sell, import, or market products that have previously been approved through the FCC device authorization process.

By being included in the "Restricted Device List", the product cannot obtain device authorization from the FCC. Most electronic devices must obtain FCC device authorization before they can be imported, marketed, or sold in the US.

Restricted equipment is prohibited from obtaining new device authorization, thus preventing new devices from entering the US market.

In recent months, the FCC has also taken similar actions against Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, an important component of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, as well as consumer routers.

Although it did not mention the source of the country supplying advanced robotic devices and inverters, China is the second largest producer of these products.

One of China's major robot companies is Unitree, which controls nearly a fifth of the global market share. The Hangzhou-based company was recently included on the Pentagon's list of companies suspected of being supported by the Chinese military.

Unitree has also partnered with US chip company Nvidia to use Nvidia's latest Blackwell chips as the brains of Unitree robots. Nvidia said data from the robots would remain in the US and Unitree's largest customers are US academic and research institutions.

China is the world's largest inverter manufacturer, led by Sungrow Power Supply and Huawei. Huawei itself has been subjected to various heavy sanctions by the US.