Chinese robots fill UK warehouses as U.S. bans imports

Chinese robotics firm Geek+ is rapidly expanding across Britain's warehouse sector, with major retailers including Tesco, Asda, and Next deploying its autonomous mobile robots to address persistent labour shortages and sluggish productivity growth, according to a BBC report published this week.myjoyonline

The expansion comes at a charged moment for Chinese robotics globally. On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots, citing national security risks — a move that does not directly affect the warehouse floor robots operating in Britain but underscores the geopolitical tensions surrounding China's robotics ambitions.pbs+1

Britain's Automation Gap

Geek+, which listed in Hong Kong last year in one of the largest robotics share sales of 2025, has become the world's largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots. Its squat silver machines glide beneath storage racks, lifting shelves and ferrying them to workers — eliminating repetitive journeys across vast fulfilment centres.myjoyonline

Britain has become the company's largest European market. UK partner MotionTech has deployed more than 2,000 robots across 10 warehouse sites. A 2026 OECD report on SME technology adoption found Britain's low adoption of robotics "surprising" given its manufacturing heritage, and identified wider automation as essential to improving productivity.english.aaj+1

"We seem to have a very big shortage of labour in the UK at the moment," said Barry Pemberton, Account Director at MotionTech. "These technologies are really important to keep businesses thriving and meet demand."myjoyonline

Unions Push for Worker Protections

The Trades Union Congress, representing nearly six million UK workers, has urged the government to ensure workers are involved in decisions about automation and that employers invest in retraining. In its response to the government's consultation on AI and innovation strategy, the TUC warned against "job-cutting, low-productivity automation" and called for unions and technologists to collaborate on steering research toward workers' priorities.myjoyonline

Geopolitical Headwinds

Geek+ says its next goal is "end-to-end unmanned warehouse solutions" covering picking, handling and packing. But China's broader robotics ambitions face new obstacles after the U.S. ban, which Reuters reported targets imports of humanoid and quadruped robots along with connected power inverters. The Chinese embassy in Washington said Beijing has long opposed the "politicising" of trade issues.reuters+1

For Britain, where the ban does not apply, the country's warehouses are becoming an early testing ground for what analysts describe as China's next major technology export.myjoyonline