USA: According to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, the Pentagon looks at Chinese-made large-scale cranes present at US ports, including several military shipping hubs,

As a potential "Trojan horse" that China could use to collect information on the movement of military supplies in and out of the country.

Unnamed "national-security and Pentagon officials," still grappling with the Chinese "spy balloon" scandal, are reportedly focusing on yet another alleged spy gadget.

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Although the newspaper did not specify whether the crane had been used for spying, it quoted Bill Evanina, a former US counterintelligence officer, who expressed concern that it allowed the flow of remote access to be disrupted. can give. things.

"Cranes could be the new Huawei," Evanina said, alluding to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, whose goods were withdrawn from the US market over similar espionage concerns. "It's the ideal combination of legitimate business that can also pass for covert intelligence gathering."

The concern about the crane comes after a dispute between the US and China over high-altitude balloons that took place last month. An alleged spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina was shot down by President Joe Biden's administration after drifting across the country.

The Chinese authorities were accused by the US authorities of using these balloons as a spying tool all over the world.

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According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Beijing has no such program, which provoked the US to use excessive force and enter US airspace by mistaking it as a civilian airship.

According to a representative of the Chinese embassy in Washington speaking to The Wall Street Journal, the alleged concern about the cranes is a "paranoia-driven" attempt to hinder trade and economic cooperation with China.

Playing the "China Card" and advancing the "China Threat" doctrine is reckless and will be detrimental to US interests.

The crane in question is produced by ZPMC, a division of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries. By selling high-quality cranes at prices lower than what Western suppliers were willing to charge, the company established itself as a major player in the American market.

To provide automated systems that can analyze data in real time, ZPMC has collaborated with Microsoft and other businesses.

According to the WSJ, the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington said in a classified 2021 assessment that China may be able to intercept port traffic or collect information on shipments of military hardware.

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Other Chinese-made products, such as baggage screening systems and electric transformers, have recently raised concerns from US national security officials.

A study to determine whether foreign-made cranes in US ports pose a security risk was mandated by a bill passed by Congress in December.