US suspects China uses giant crane for spying

The Pentagon views giant Chinese-made cranes operating at U.S. ports, including some military-owned shipping centers, as “a type of code or malware” that China could use to gather intelligence on cargo 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, the spy crane could provide remote access to disrupt the flow of goods. "The crane could be a new product from Huawei," Evania said. "It's the perfect combination of legitimate business and covert 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.

Crane 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 has denied that it operates any such program, and criticized Washington for using force and overreacting to what Beijing called a civilian balloon that went off course and accidentally entered US airspace./.