The corporate’s manufactured robots ‘are usually not simply instruments—they’re potential surveillance gadgets backed by the Chinese language Communist Occasion,’ Rep. John Moolenaar says.
A bipartisan group of 24 Home lawmakers is asking for federal investigations into China-based Unitree Robotics, warning that its merchandise pose a nationwide safety threat.
Led by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the Home Choose Committee on the Chinese language Communist Occasion, and committee rating member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-III.), the lawmakers identified that Unitree has “well-documented ties to PLA-affiliated establishments and Chinese language Communist Occasion (CCP) entities.” PLA is an acronym for the Chinese language regime’s navy, the Individuals’s Liberation Military.
“Each single member of the Committee—Democrats and Republicans—signed this letter as a result of all of us see the chance: Beijing is quietly embedding itself in our crucial techniques. We should act now to ban and blacklist Unitree earlier than it’s too late.”
The lawmakers requested the three companies to conduct speedy investigations into Unitree’s function in advancing Chinese language navy targets. And primarily based on their findings, they suggest that the Pentagon designate the agency as a “Chinese language navy firm,” the Commerce Division add it to its “Entity Record” to limit exports, and the FCC embrace it in its “Coated Record” to stop use in U.S. telecom infrastructure.
Unitree, discovered by Wang Xingxing in 2016 and headquartered in central China’s Hangzhou metropolis, is understood for its product line of humanoid robots and quadruped robotic canines.
In accordance with the letter, Unitree’s robots have been utilized by regulation enforcement companies, correctional amenities, and protection installations throughout the US.
“The U.S. should act decisively now to stop a repeat of the drone sector, the place reliance on adversarial nation-made platforms compromised our technological edge and jeopardizes U.S. nationwide safety,” AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins mentioned.
“Our nationwide safety, industrial resilience, and technological management rely upon eliminating vulnerabilities throughout your complete uncrewed techniques ecosystem. AUVSI applauds the Choose Committee for its management.”
Issues
The lawmakers detailed Unitree’s ties to the Chinese language regime of their letter.
They famous that Wang, who’s Unitree’s CEO, held a “top-ranking place” at a closed-door assembly between the nation’s high busines leaders and CCP chief Xi Jinping in February, in accordance with the letter.
Unitree has additionally been “closely sponsored” by Hangzhou’s municipal authorities and supported by the town’s $140 billion Sci-Tech Fund, in accordance with the letter.
The lawmakers identified that Unitree has additionally taken half in military-civil fusion applications and operates from a military-civil fusion hub within the metropolis known as Hangzhou Excessive-Tech Zone.
Citing China’s Nationwide College of Protection Know-how, the lawmakers wrote that Unitree “is central to the PRC’s AI growth alongside Huawei and SMIC,” also called Semiconductor Manufacturing Worldwide Company.
Lawmakers mentioned the “most pressing threat” of Unitree’s platforms has to do with its distant digital entry.
“In March 2025, cybersecurity researchers reported that Unitree robots come pre-installed with an undocumented distant entry tunnel known as CloudSail. This service is enabled by default and silently connects every robotic to Unitree’s servers within the PRC,” the letter reads.
Moreover, the lawmakers acknowledged that Unitree shops its person information in China, citing the corporate’s privateness coverage. Consequently, Unitree might be compelled to show over the information to Chinese language authorities below the nation’s intelligence and cybersecurity legal guidelines.
Unitree’s robots are additionally related to U.S. telecoms infrastructure, elevating considerations amongst lawmakers about potential dangers to crucial U.S. infrastructure from “distant surveillance and information assortment” by malign actors, in accordance with the letter.
Different committee members who signed the letter embrace Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Darin LaHood (R-Unwell.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Younger Kim (R-Calif.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa.), and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa).
“Unitree ought to be banned and blacklisted for weaponizing know-how in opposition to Individuals.”