China Warns of Retaliation If US Sticks with Robot Ban
By Reuters | 29 Jul, 2026

The commerce ministry urged the United States to immediately withdraw the measures and stop its "erroneous actions", saying they discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies and products.

FILE PHOTO: A visitor high-fives a humanoid robot at the Keenon Robotics booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China, July 18, 2026. REUTERS/Go Nakamura TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo

China will "resolutely retaliate" and safeguard its interests if the United States insists on acting unilaterally over an import ban on new Chinese robots and power inverters, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry urged the United States to immediately withdraw the measures and stop its "erroneous actions", saying they discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies and products.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released measures on Tuesday, seeking to protect the U.S. AI buildout from national security threats and reshore key industries slated for explosive growth.

China said the FCC had ignored Beijing's repeated representations and continued to intensify its restrictive measures.

The ministry accused the U.S. of generalising the concept of national security, calling it "market distortion and unilateral bullying behaviour" that ignored the interests of Chinese and American industries.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Saad Sayeed)