China urges US to revoke ban on foreign humanoids, warns of countermeasures

China on Thursday urged the US to reverse its ban on foreign-made advanced robotic devices from the American market, threatening retaliation.

The US Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday added “advanced robotic devices” such as humanoid robots and quadrupeds, as well as power inverters, to its “Covered List” of gear deemed too risky to authorize for sale in the US. Many of them are made in China.

“If the US persists in going its own way, China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the state-run Global Times quoted a Commerce Ministry spokesperson as saying in a statement.

The relevant measures are in essence “discriminatory treatment and suppression,” targeting Chinese enterprises and products, the spokesperson added.

These actions, the spokesperson said, seriously harm China’s legitimate trade interests, undermine the stable situation of China-US economic and trade relations, and disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

“The US side is generalizing the concept of national security, disregarding the strong calls from industries in both China and the US, and using administrative power to artificially interfere with normal commercial transactions and trade between enterprises,” the statement added.