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Rising geopolitical tensions are fueling a “robot race” between the United States and China, where humanoid robotics is emerging as a pillar of national security and economic control. China is scaling through mass production and state-backed investment, while the U.S. pushes bipartisan policies to restrict foreign tech and boost domestic manufacturing.
Companies like Tesla and Boston Dynamics are moving toward high-volume deployment, supported by NVIDIA and its advances in physical AI and simulation. The result is a turning point: autonomous machines are becoming central to global competition, reshaping labor, defense, and industrial resilience.