Humanoid robots: Trump's latest China trade battle?
Nik Martin July 31, 2026 The US has banned foreign-made humanoid robots, a market Chinese tech firms dominate. Although Washington cited national security risks, analysts think Donald Trump is buying time for US robot makers to catch up.
Key takeaways
- The most recent headlines show that humanoid robotics is becoming a geopolitical and commercial flashpoint. In early August, Chinese firm Unitree Robotics priced a Shanghai‑stock‑exchange IPO that values the company at about $9 billion, underscoring investors’ belief that humanoid machines will be a major technology breakthrough. At the same time, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on new Chinese‑made humanoid and quadruped robots over national‑security concerns, and former President Donald Trump has framed the restriction as part of a broader trade battle with China.
- American companies are responding with high‑profile moves. Nvidia unveiled the Isaac GR00T reference humanoid, built on a Unitree H2 Plus platform and equipped with Jetson Thor processors, to accelerate academic research. Tesla’s Optimus remains a long‑term goal, with Elon Musk targeting a $20,000‑$30,000 price point once mass‑produced. Agility Robotics is set to go public via a SPAC merger, and Samsung Electronics has announced plans to enter the humanoid market.
- In the private‑sector race, BYD said it will reveal functional humanoid robots in August, emphasizing its capacity to mass‑produce at scale, while Walden Robotics announced a partnership with Toyota to develop practical, wheel‑based humanoids for workplace assistance. Meanwhile, Chinese startup UBTech launched the U1, a full‑size social robot aimed at seniors and single adults, priced around $16,500.
- Collectively, these developments illustrate a surge in investment—more than $3 billion poured into humanoid startups in 2025 alone—and a shift from science‑fiction demos toward real‑world applications in hospitality, manufacturing, education and personal companionship.
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Nik Martin
July 31, 2026
The US has banned foreign-made humanoid robots, a market Chinese tech firms dominate. Although Washington cited national security risks, analysts think Donald Trump is buying time for US robot makers to catch up.
Chinese humanoid robots have shown they can talk, win half marathons and enjoy martial artsImage: Ying Tang/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Washington is also concerned that a large cohort of low-cost Chinese robots could feed real-world data back to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) systems, which are fast catching up with their US rivals.
The threat, however, is largely theoretical as most commercial humanoid robots are in early stages of development.
A worker checks a row of general-purpose embodied robots of Zhiyuan Robotics in Shanghai, China ( December 8, 2025)
China has the edge over the US in humanoid robot deploymentImage: Imaginechina/Sipa USA/picture alliance ### Robot runners beat humans in Beijing half-marathon
For the first time, humanoid robots have outclassed humans in a half-marathon held in Beijing. The winner beat the men's record for the distance set by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo in March.
ScienceApril 19, 2026
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