According to reports from July 23, America’s anxiety over Chinese technology has expanded into a new frontier. As Washington lawmakers push forward defense legislation, the US military will be banned from deploying Chinese-made humanoid robots.
The US House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This annual defense policy bill includes provisions limiting the use of foreign autonomous systems, citing concerns over national security and data privacy.
Under Section 163 of the draft bill, the Pentagon would be prohibited from buying, leasing, or using restricted humanoid robot systems linked to designated “foreign adversaries,” including China, Russia, and Iran.
While this defense bill incorporates key elements of the “GUARD Act”—proposed last summer by Rep. John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on China—it doesn’t include the most severe measures.
Under the full GUARD Act framework, Chinese-made humanoid robots and four-legged “robot dog” systems would be evaluated for inclusion on the FCC’s “Covered List.” Once listed, these robots would lose wireless communication permits, effectively banning their commercial sale in the US market.
Since Section 163 only applies to military procurement, lawmakers aren’t yet restricting commercial sales.
After the House vote, Moolenaar welcomed the ban on Chinese robots for military use but warned that Washington “cannot allow these robots to dominate in America.”
His call highlights China’s growing influence in the global robot market.
According to a report from market research firm Counterpoint Research in January, about 80% of global humanoid robot shipments last year came from Chinese companies.
Major US robot developers—including Figure AI, Agility Robotics, and Tesla—each shipped around 150 humanoid robots last year.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly stressed that it opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security and abusing export controls like entity lists to suppress Chinese companies. The US should stop politicizing and weaponizing trade and technology issues.