Bipartisan Lawmakers Call for Federal Investigations Into Chinese Robotics Company

The company’s manufactured robots are not just tools, they are potential surveillance devices backed by the Chinese Communist Party,” says Rep. John Mourenard.

A bipartisan group of 24 House members is calling for a federal investigation into China-based Unitree Robotics, warning that its products pose national security risks.

Lawmakers sent a letter dated May 6 to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses, Commerce Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Kerr.

Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-III.), a ranking member of the committee, led by Rep. John Mourenard (R-Mich.), chair of the House Selection Committee on the Communist Party of China, noted that Unitree “has “a well-documented relationship” with parties to the Pla-Afileated Institutions and Chinese Communist (CCP). PLA is an acronym for the People’s Liberation Army, a military force of the Chinese regime.

“The fact that robots connected to the PLA are operating in US prisons and even within Army operations should be a wake-up call,” Moolenaar said in a May 7 statement.

“Every member of the committee (Democrats and Republicans) signed this letter because we all see the risks. Beijing quietly embedding itself into our critical system.

The lawmakers called on three agencies to immediately investigate Unitree’s role in advance of China’s military goals. And based on their findings, they recommend that the Pentagon designate the company as a “Chinese military company” and add it to the “entity list” to restrict exports, while the FCC recommends that it be included in the “cover list” to prevent its use in the US communications infrastructure.

Discovered by Wang Xingxing in 2016 and headquartered in Hangzhou, central China, Unitree is known for its humanoid robots and four times the robotic dog product line.

According to the letter, Unitree robots are used in law enforcement, correctional facilities and defense facilities all over the United States.

Last June, the Port St. Lucie Police Department in Florida announced on Facebook that a robotic dog purchased with a $25,000 grant had been deployed during a drug search.

Last October, the Pullman Police Department in Washington announced on Facebook that it had purchased the Unitree Robot Dog. The department said the robot will support multiple policing scenarios for its capabilities, including its ability to carry 25 pounds, video and mapping technology.

The Concreced Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Association, a non-profit trade group, shared the lawmakers’ concerns in a statement issued May 6th.

“The United States must act decisively to prevent repeated drone sectors where reliance on hostile national-made platforms violates the advantages of our technology and endangers US national security.”

“Our national security, industrial resilience and technical leadership rely on eliminating vulnerabilities across the entire system ecosystem that has not been condemned. AUVSI praises the Select Committee’s leadership.”

Concerns

In their letter, lawmakers detailed Unitree’s relationship with the Chinese administration.

They said Wang, CEO of Unitree, held “top ranking position” in February at a closure meeting between the country’s top business leader and CCP leader Xi Jinping.

Christopher Beddle, assistant director of China research at Dividkal Dragonomics in Hong Kong, previously told the Epoch Times that the February meeting was “an implicit recognition that the Chinese government needs private companies for its technical presence with the United States.”

According to the letter, Unitree has been “heavy subsidized” by the city government in Hangzhou and is supported by the city’s $140 billion Sci-Tech fund.

The lawmakers noted that Unitree is also participating in the military fusion programme and operates from the city’s military fusion hub known as the Hangzhou High-Tech Zone.

The US State Department says on its website that China is implementing a fusion strategy to acquire advanced technology through “LICIT and illegal means” to advance military capabilities and achieve military control.

Citing China’s National University of Defense Technology, lawmakers write that Unicon is “the heart of PRC’s AI expansion along with Huawei and Smic.”

Chinese telecom giants Howaway and Chinese semiconductor foundry Smic are both on the list of the Pentagon, a Chinese military company operating in the US.

Lawmakers said the “most urgent risk” of Unitree’s platform is related to remote digital access.

“In March 2025, cybersecurity researchers reported that Unitree robots had pre-installed undocumented remote access tunnels called Cloudsail. The service is enabled by default and quietly connects each robot to the Unitree server in PRC,” the letter reads.

Additionally, lawmakers said Unitree stores user data in China, citing the company’s privacy policy. As a result, Unitree could be forced to transfer data to Chinese authorities under the country’s intelligence reporting and cybersecurity laws.

Unitree’s robots are also connected to the US communications infrastructure, raising concerns among lawmakers about potential risks to critical US infrastructure from “remote surveillance and data collection” by Malign Actors.

Other committee members who signed the letter include Rob Whitman (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-flif.), ro khanna (d-flif.), and darin lahood. Mikie Sherrill (DN.J.), Dusty Johnson (Rs.D.), Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), Ritchie Torres (DN.Y.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Jill Tokuda (d-hawaii), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Zach Nun (R-Iowa.), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa).

“Through police stations and robots planted in US soil, CCPs are becoming creative in the way they embed in our society,” Hinson, who also sits on the House Budget Committee, wrote on May 7th on social media platform X.

“Unitrees should be banned and blacklisted because of weaponization techniques against Americans.”