US artificial intelligence and robotics firms have urged lawmakers to take action against Chinese robot manufacturers – singling out Unitree Robotics – citing increased competition and national security risks, in a sign that humanoid robots may emerge as a new battleground in the widening US-China tech rivalry.

China’s speed of advancement in humanoid robots is alarming, and the US government should formulate coordinated policies and strategies to counter Chinese firms’ dominance in the industry, witnesses said at a hearing on Tuesday convened by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

The witnesses, including executives from Scale AI and Boston Dynamics, recommended government actions including investigating the national security threat posed by Chinese robot makers, expanding export control measures to cover AI inference chips and potentially banning federal agencies from procuring certain Chinese AI and robotics technologies.

Witness Max Fenkell, global head of policy and government relations at San Francisco-based Scale AI, pointed to Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics’ performance last month at China’s annual Lunar New Year gala, where its humanoid robots performed martial arts including backflips and leaps from trampolines.

“The video went viral, not because it was impressive, but because of what happened when people compared it to last year, 12 months ago, [when] the same robots could barely shuffle through a dance routine,” Fenkell said.

“This year, they’re doing karate. That is the speed of this competition … Winning requires a whole-of-government approach,” he said.