Chinese-made cranes used at Canadian ports flagged as security concern by U.S.

financialpost.com:

Chinese-made cargo cranes that have been flagged as a security concern by an ongoing congressional probe in the United States are widely deployed throughout Canada’s ports.

A House of Representatives’ joint committee said its investigation turned up evidence of cellular modems on the Chinese-made port cranes that “do not appear in any way to contribute to the operation … raising significant questions as to their intended applications.”

The cranes in question were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (ZPMC), and the U.S. House probe noted the company manufactures its cranes at a site adjacent to a shipyard where the Chinese Communist Party’s Navy builds its “most advanced” warships.

“This proximity to … (the) main shipyard provides malicious CCP entities, including its intelligence agencies and security services, with ample opportunity to modify U.S.-bound maritime equipment, exploit it to malfunction, or otherwise facilitate cyber espionage thereby compromising U.S. maritime critical infrastructure,” the U.S. House committee said in a Feb 29. letter to ZPMC.

So far, the Canadian government has not voiced similar concerns in public. A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Safety did not provide comment by publication time.

The Chinese embassy in Canada declined to answer questions, but referred to comments made by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin at a press conference on Jan. 22 that U.S. politicians are being anticompetitive.

“For those U.S. politicians, anything advanced from China can be a ‘threat’ and must be stopped by all means; perhaps shirts and socks are the only type of Chinese exports that do not threaten the U.S., Wang Wenbin said. “This is sheer bullying and hegemonism.”

ZPMC