The latest deal between Guangdong Lingdu Intelligent Technology and its first US buyer has hit a snag amid rising tariffs from the Trump administration. Valued at 12 million yuan (roughly US$1.6 million), the agreement for X-Human robots—designed to clean skyscrapers and solar panels—highlights how US trade policies can disrupt business plans.
Lingdu’s Chief Operating Officer, Jackey Huang Jian, explained that both sides are in a holding pattern while waiting for any changes in tariff policy. “Both parties are now waiting for changes in Trump’s tariff policies,” he said.
US authorities have imposed a cumulative 145% tariff on Chinese imports this year, though economists at Morgan Stanley are optimistic that negotiations might see the rate drop to around 60% by the end of the second quarter.
Lingdu’s innovative cleaning robots have already made their mark in more than 20 global markets, including Europe and the Middle East. Its flagship model, the Lingkong robot, has scaled notable structures like the 103-storey Guangzhou International Finance Centre, the 56-storey Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai, and Hong Kong’s 35-storey Kowloon Commerce Centre.
These machines use a combination of suction cups and wheels to move along building facades, deftly handling surface curves of up to 5 millimetres. Equipped with a sewage filtration and recycling system, each robot can operate for up to half a day on just 8 litres of water, with a battery life of three hours, and a safety rope ensures secure operation.
A single unit is capable of cleaning up to 2,000 square metres of wall space daily—a pace that far outstrips human capabilities. For context, People’s Daily noted in 2014 that cleaning the 110,000-square-metre Zifeng Tower in Nanjing took six workers three months to complete.
