EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION: China's New Secret Weapon Exposed as Kung-Fu Robots — And New AI Army Could be Unstoppable
China's secret AI army emerges as kung-fu robots, raising fears of an unstoppable technological force.
April 10 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
China's jaw-dropping demonstration of humanoid-like robots throwing kung fu kicks and punches as fast as any martial arts expert has stunned experts, who are voicing alarm that the Asian giant is far ahead in AI technology and the mechanical men pose an even greater military threat – as spies, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The incredible robotic performance at the Spring Festival Gala, seen by 400 million people, featured human youths demonstrating with lightning-quick robots that looked like the helmeted, bodysuit-wearing heroes out of the hit '90s kids series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
China’s Robots Spark Spy Fears
Emily Lathrop of Rand Corporation said Unitree's humanoid robots showcased at the Spring Festival Gala highlight rapid advances in China's robotics capabilities.
The Unitree company's bots were far advanced from last year's batch, which were less mobile and stiffly mechanical in their movements.
Emily Lathrop, an associate engineer at Rand Corporation, said the amazing show was an "impressive demonstration of how far China's humanoid robotics have advanced in the past year."
And a congressional committee chillingly warned that Chinese bots could be a "growing national threat" of Trojan horse-like, secret spies.
Think tank member Eric Schmidt, a former Google boss, notes that Chinese bots brought into the U.S. for supposed commercial use could be secretly controlled to perform "data exfiltration and remote sabotage or manipulation of critical systems."
China Dominates Global Robot Market
Eric Schmidt warned, Chinese robots from companies like Unitree could be used for 'data exfiltration and remote sabotage or manipulation of critical systems.'
In fact, the Pentagon briefly added bot-maker Unitree to its black list of companies with military ties before withdrawing the list.
Meanwhile, Unitree has denied selling to the Chinese military.
According to experts, China accounts for 90 percent of the robot trade worldwide and its companies, including Unitree and Agibot, are expected to sell more than 50,000 this year.
Meanwhile, Tesla has produced only about 150 of its Optimus bots designed to perform "unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks" after company boss Elon Musk promised to have "several thousand" by the end of 2025.
China’s Robots Crush U.S. Competition
Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said China is ahead in robotics development as Elon Musk's Tesla continues work on its Optimus bots.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives warns: "China is way ahead on the robotics front. Tesla is poised to be a clear leader on Optimus, but there is no denying that China is playing at a different level than the U.S."
The robots are also a threat as cheap labor to replace human workers.
Unitree's cheapest R1 robot costs just $4,900 – about a third of the yearly minimum wage earned in the U.S.
China Set to Dominate Robotics
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Rueben Scriven of Interact Analysis projected China will supply 75 percent of the global robot market, with Ethan Qi citing strong supply chain advantages.
Expert Rueben Scriven at Interact Analysis believes China will supply 75 percent of the robots worldwide by 2032.
Ethan Qi, a Beijing-based analyst for Counterpoint Research, noted: "If we look at the hardware and mass production capabilities, China is building up the supply chain advantages."
