The company’s manufactured robots ‘are not just tools—they are potential surveillance devices backed by the Chinese Communist Party,’ Rep. John Moolenaar says.
A bipartisan group of 24 House lawmakers is calling for federal investigations into China-based Unitree Robotics, warning that its products pose a national security risk.
Led by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and committee ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-III.), the lawmakers pointed out that Unitree has “well-documented ties to PLA-affiliated institutions and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entities.” PLA is an acronym for the Chinese regime’s military, the People’s Liberation Army.
“Every single member of the Committee—Democrats and Republicans—signed this letter because we all see the risk: Beijing is quietly embedding itself in our critical systems. We must act now to ban and blacklist Unitree before it’s too late.”
The lawmakers asked the three agencies to conduct immediate investigations into Unitree’s role in advancing Chinese military objectives. And based on their findings, they recommend that the Pentagon designate the firm as a “Chinese military company,” the Commerce Department add it to its “Entity List” to restrict exports, and the FCC include it in its “Covered List” to prevent use in U.S. telecom infrastructure.
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Unitree, found by Wang Xingxing in 2016 and headquartered in central China’s Hangzhou city, is known for its product line of humanoid robots and quadruped robot dogs.
According to the letter, Unitree’s robots have been used by law enforcement agencies, correctional facilities, and defense installations across the United States.
“The U.S. must act decisively now to prevent a repeat of the drone sector, where reliance on adversarial nation-made platforms compromised our technological edge and jeopardizes U.S. national security,” AUVSI President and CEO Michael Robbins said.
“Our national security, industrial resilience, and technological leadership depend on eliminating vulnerabilities across the entire uncrewed systems ecosystem. AUVSI applauds the Select Committee for its leadership.”
Concerns
The lawmakers detailed Unitree’s ties to the Chinese regime in their letter.
They noted that Wang, who is Unitree’s CEO, held a “top-ranking position” at a closed-door meeting between the country’s top busines leaders and CCP leader Xi Jinping in February, according to the letter.
Unitree has also been “heavily subsidized” by Hangzhou’s municipal government and supported by the city’s $140 billion Sci-Tech Fund, according to the letter.
The lawmakers pointed out that Unitree has also taken part in military-civil fusion programs and operates from a military-civil fusion hub in the city called Hangzhou High-Tech Zone.
Citing China’s National University of Defense Technology, the lawmakers wrote that Unitree “is central to the PRC’s AI expansion alongside Huawei and SMIC,” also known as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.
Lawmakers said the “most urgent risk” of Unitree’s platforms has to do with its remote digital access.
“In March 2025, cybersecurity researchers reported that Unitree robots come pre-installed with an undocumented remote access tunnel called CloudSail. This service is enabled by default and silently connects each robot to Unitree’s servers in the PRC,” the letter reads.
Additionally, the lawmakers stated that Unitree stores its user data in China, citing the company’s privacy policy. Consequently, Unitree can be compelled to turn over the data to Chinese authorities under the country’s intelligence and cybersecurity laws.
Unitree’s robots are also connected to U.S. telecoms infrastructure, raising concerns among lawmakers about potential risks to critical U.S. infrastructure from “remote surveillance and data collection” by malign actors, according to the letter.
Other committee members who signed the letter include 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-Ill.), 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.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa.), and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa).
“Unitree should be banned and blacklisted for weaponizing technology against Americans.”