Last month, a suspected Chinese spy balloon raised concerns about America's national security.
And now in March, Chinese-made cranes have become a source of contention among U.S. defense officials.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Pentagon officials are concerned that the ship-to-shore cranes — made by the China-based manufacturer, ZPMC — have emerged as a possible spying tool for the Chinese government.
The ZPMC cranes, according to the Journal, possess "sophisticated sensors that can register and track the provenance and destination of containers, prompting concerns that China could capture information about material being shipped in or out of the country to support U.S. military operations around the world."
There are also worries of the cranes providing remote access to other parties disrupting the flow of goods in America, the Journal reports.
"Cranes can be the new Huawei," said Bill Evanina, a former top U.S. counterintelligence official.
Evanina was referring to the Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co., whose equipment has ostensibly been banned by U.S. officials, after a warning that it could be used to spy on Americans.
"It's the perfect combination of legitimate business that can also masquerade as clandestine intelligence collection," said Evanina.
In recent months, the Journal notes, Western law-enforcement authorities have brought more attention to the threats posed by Chinese espionage, including theft of technology.
As part of that, national security officials have pointed to a range of equipment manufactured in China that "could facilitate either surveillance or disruptions in the U.S.," including electrical transformers and baggage-screening systems, according to the Journal.
However, a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. dismissed the American concerns about Chinese-made cranes as a "paranoia-driven" narrative to obstruct trade and economic cooperation with China.
"Playing the 'China card' and floating the 'China threat' theory is irresponsible and will harm the interests of the U.S. itself," the embassy representative stated.
The publication also reports that ZPMC has quickly become a "major player" in the automated-ports industry, working with Microsoft Corp. to "connect equipment and analyze data in real time."
"We used to sell equipment, but now we are selling systems," said Hailiang Song, ZPMC's then-chairman, in a 2017 video on Microsoft's website. In that same video, according to the Journal, then-President Qingfeng Huang added: "Through our main office in Shanghai, you can monitor all the cranes" to help troubleshoot.
The Journal reports that ZPMC says it controls roughly 70% of the global market for cranes, with global sales accounting for more than 100 countries. Regarding U.S. ports, an American official estimates that ZPMC accounts for nearly 80% of the ship-to-shore cranes in use.
The ZPMC cranes are generally delivered to U.S. ports fully assembled on ships and are operated through Chinese-made software.
Last year, Rep. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., proposed a ban on future U.S. purchases of Chinese cranes and encourage other manufacturers.
Before his congressional career, Giménez had been the mayor of Miami Dade County — a port that has some ZPMC-manufactured cranes.
Giménez said he introduced the legislation shortly after learning the software on ZPMC cranes could be used for potentially harmful purposes, according to the Journal.
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