China threatens retaliation against U.S. humanoid robot ban, says it 'severely damages' relations

A humanoid robot from Robostore joins CNBC's Power Lunch on Dec. 30, 2025.CNBCBEIJING — The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has repeatedly ignored Beijing's restrained stance on product bans, China's commerce ministry said Thursday, threatening retaliation.The FCC on Tuesday said due to cybersecurity concerns, it added foreign-made advanced robotic devices, including humanoids, to a list restricting imports to the U.S. The statement did not specify a country, and said retailers could still import models the FCC has previously approved.As the FCC keeps escalating restrictions on Chinese goods, it "severely damages China-U.S. economic and trade stability," China's commerce ministry said in an online statement Thursday. That's according to a CNBC translation of Mandarin.The ministry urged the U.S. to withdraw the decision, and threatened countermeasures if it failed to do so. "This is bad news for Chinese humanoid producers planning their IPOs in the coming months," said Marc Einstein, a research director at Counterpoint Research. "The two major cards China can play are to further restrict rare earth sales to American companies and further restricting Chinese market access for ...