A humanoid robot conducts box-carrying training at a data collection pre-training center for humanoid robots in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Dec. 4, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

The US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly told executives at a closed-door ‌meeting Monday that his department is studying so-called "Chinese state-subsidized" robotics imports and signaled the administration could take action once the review is complete, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. 

According to the report, US officials increasingly see China's state-backed robotics industry as a "national security threat," fearing subsidized Chinese robots could dominate global markets before US manufacturers have the scale to compete.

A Chinese expert said on Wednesday that the move once again reflects the US tendency to politicize economic and trade issues by framing them through a so-called "national security" lens, and using this narrative to justify stronger trade barriers. Many Chinese robotic products are widely embraced around the world, and such moves by the US Commerce Department run counter to consumer choice and the broader market trend.

Chinese-made robots already face US tariffs, though several attendees said Lutnick's comments suggest the administration is considering additional action, Politico reported.

"We don't want state subsidized robotics attacking us in America, this is the arms [race] that is coming — robotic arms are coming," Lutnick claimed according to notes from the meeting provided to POLITICO. "We need to make sure they're produced in America so we're going to study those right now."

The US official's remarks on alleged "Chinese state subsidies for robotics products" reflect a continued tendency to politicize economic and trade issues by framing them through a national security lens, using this narrative to justify stronger trade barriers, Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Xiang said that robotics products reflect global innovation and highly interconnected manufacturing cooperation. Treating normal industrial policy and market-driven competition as "state subsidies" oversimplifies how global supply chains actually operate and risks overstretching the concept of national security to cover technological progress and industrial upgrading.

A Morgan Stanley report suggested that the number of robots that resemble and act like humans is likely to reach nearly 1 billion by 2050, with China currently leading in development.

China is dominating the field of AI-enabled robotics, humanoids or otherwise, and the gap with the US is widening, said the report.

China's advanced robotics industry is advancing rapidly, driven by the strong innovation capabilities of Chinese companies, a complete supply chain, and supportive government policies, Xiang said, adding that the sector is also benefiting from expanding real-world applications and accelerating commercialization.

In areas such as robotics, mobile phones, telecommunications equipment and automobiles, whenever China develops highly competitive and potentially disruptive products, the US tends to adopt various measures to keep them out of its market, the industry analyst said.

However, when a country relies on such a politically driven approach to protection, the consequences are already visible, Xiang said, citing the telecommunications sector, where domestic alternatives often lack sufficient coverage or come at significantly higher costs for consumers.

Similar outcomes could emerge in robotics in the future, ultimately risking broader harm to US businesses and consumers, Xiang said.

Meanwhile, China's advanced robots are going global, drawing attention with the country's strong manufacturing and application capabilities while helping upgrade overseas manufacturing and energize global industrial and supply chains.

China is the world's largest user and manufacturer of industrial robots, with Vietnam, Mexico and Thailand emerging as the fastest-growing destinations for Chinese exports in the sector, according to a report by the People's Daily. 

In Vietnam, a key hub for the global shift of electronics manufacturing, Chinese industrial robots have been widely used on assembly lines for products such as smartphones and computers. In Mexico, an important extension of North America's auto manufacturing network, Chinese robots are playing a major role in processes including body welding, painting and assembly. In Thailand, Chinese industrial robots are being introduced on a large scale in auto parts processing and home appliance manufacturing, helping drive the automation upgrade of local industry.

China has surged ahead in manufacturing automation and is now spearheading growth in the global robotics industry, said Takayuki Ito, president of the International Federation of Robotics, highlighting the country's unprecedented pace in expanding its industrial robot fleet and modernizing factories, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Global Times