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.
The lawmakers sent a letter, dated May 6, to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr.
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.
“The fact that PLA-connected robots are operating in U.S. prisons and even within Army operations should be a wake-up call,” Moolenaar said in a statement on May 7. “These machines are not just tools—they are potential surveillance devices backed by the Chinese Communist Party.
“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.
In June last year, the Port St. Lucie Police Department in Florida announced on Facebook that its robot dog, which was purchased through a $25,000 grant, was deployed during a narcotics search.
In October last year, the City of Pullman Police Department in Washington state announced on Facebook it had purchased a Unitree robot dog. The department said the robot would assist in multiple policing scenarios due to its features, including its ability to carry 25 pounds and video and mapping technology.
The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), a nonprofit trade group, shared the lawmakers’ concerns in a statement issued on May 6.
“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.