Several House committees have opened investigations due to increased spying concerns after discovering that Chinese-built cargo cranes deployed at U.S. ports contained unknown equipment.
House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark E. Green, (R-TN), Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee Chair Carlos Gimenez, (R-FL), and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Committee Chair Mike Gallagher, (R-WI), have expressed concern that every U.S. seaport with Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries cranes has been, or could be, at risk of being compromised by the Chinese Communist Party.
“In briefings with the committees, U.S. federal law enforcement agencies have confirmed PRC state-owned enterprises are aggressively attempting to generate undue economic influence and establish a strategic presence at certain maritime ports around the country,” the chairmen wrote.
“The United States is alarmed by mounting evidence that the PRC is solidifying its presence and exerting influence over an industry critically important to the U.S. economy.”
The letter relays concerns related to cellular modems discovered on ship-to-shore crane components at a U.S. seaport.
The administration announced plans earlier this year to invest more than $20 billion to replace foreign-built cranes with U.S.-manufactured ones.
