US suspects China of using giant cranes for spying

The Pentagon views giant Chinese-made cranes operating at US ports, including some military-owned shipping hubs, as a “type of code or malware” that China could use to gather intelligence on goods and materials moving in and out of the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 5.

According to former US counterintelligence official Bill Evania, this spy crane could provide remote access to disrupt the flow of goods. Evania said: "The crane could be a new product of Huawei. It is the perfect combination of legitimate business and disguised as secret intelligence gathering."

A representative of the Chinese Embassy in Washington told the WSJ that the concerns were a “fantasy” attempt to hinder bilateral economic and trade cooperation. “Playing the ‘China card’ and adopting the ‘China threat’ theory is irresponsible and will harm the interests of the United States itself,” the official said.

Cranes manufactured by ZPMC. Photo:Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The latest concerns come on the heels of a dispute between the US and China over high-altitude balloons last month. The Biden administration shot down a suspected spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina after it drifted across the country. US officials have accused China of using such balloons around the world as a surveillance tool.

For its part, China's Foreign Ministry denied that the country operated any such program, and criticized Washington for using force and overreacting to what Beijing called a civilian balloon that deviated and accidentally entered US airspace./.