Unitree joins PetroChina parent's robot venture after Pentagon blacklist

Unitree Technology is teaming up with China's state oil machine. A Beijing market regulator filing shows the robot maker signed a deal with China National Petroleum Corporation — PetroChina's parent — and Beijing Fanjie Intelligent Technology to build a new robotics company, according to Cryptopolitan. A public comment window on the deal runs from November 4 to November 13, and the business registration isn't finished yet. No name, no address, no ribbon cutting so far.

The split is clear: CNPC's Kunlun Manufacturing and Kunlun Capital take 60%, while Unitree and Fanjie hold 20% each. All three share control. The new outfit will build AI-powered industrial robots for flammable and toxic zones — oil and gas sites, refineries, storage facilities, emergency response, fuel and charging stations, plus overseas projects.

Unitree already has skin in that game. Its B2-Ex is an explosion-proof four-legged robot built for gas-gathering stations, production zones and chemical tank farms. Pairing up with CNPC's manufacturing arm hands Unitree something it can't buy: live energy sites pumping out real operating data.

The timing is the story. The Pentagon dropped Unitree onto its 1260H list of companies it says support China's military on June 8, pushing the list to 188 names. Weeks later, on July 28, the FCC put foreign-built advanced robots on its Covered List — the same national security tool it has used against Huawei and ZTE.

Unitree says it's not locked out yet. The company told investors its six best-selling models — the G1, H2 and R1 humanoids and the Go2, B2 and A2 quadrupeds — cleared FCC authorization before the rule kicked in. New models face a wall unless they win an exemption. Overseas sales topped 40% of revenue in each reporting period, but the U.S. slice has shrunk to 13.3%.

There's a familiar thread running through the deal. Kunlun Capital backed Unitree's Shanghai listing as a strategic investor, snapping up 903,290 shares, or 2.23% of the strategic placement. Unitree listed on August 19 and raised 6.1 billion yuan, roughly $900 million. DeepSeek and a state oil giant were among the backers too. Now that state oil giant's parent is in business with it. Critics in Washington, already pointing at a rifle-toting Unitree dog used in the Golden Dragon 2024 drills with Cambodia, just got a fresh target.