BEIJING (Reuters) – Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) said on Sunday its cranes do not pose a cybersecurity risk after U.S. congressional committees questioned the Chinese state-owned company’s work on cranes bound for the United States.
A House safety panel examining the installation of Swiss engineering group ABB’s (ST:) ZPMC equipment on U.S.-bound ship-shore cranes invited ABB executives to a public hearing in January to clarify their relationship with ZPMC, which they said had caused “serious concern”.
“ZPMC takes U.S. concerns seriously and believes these reports could easily mislead the public without sufficient factual analysis,” it said, citing an investigation by the Homeland Security and Strategic Competition committees.
“The cranes provided by ZPMC do not pose a cybersecurity threat to any ports,” it said.
ABB said it sold its control and electrification equipment to many crane manufacturers, including Chinese companies, which in turn sold the cranes directly to U.S. ports.
The US and China, the world’s largest economies, often accuse each other of cyberattacks and industrial espionage. This year, Washington said it had disrupted a Chinese cyber espionage operation targeting U.S. infrastructure and was investigating Chinese car imports for national security risks. He previously banned Chinese telecommunications companies.
ZPMC said the cranes it supplies are used in ports around the world, including the United States, and comply with international standards as well as applicable laws and regulations.
ZPMC, which is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of port equipment and owns a fleet of more than 20 transport vessels, according to its website.
ABB generates 16% of its sales from China, second only to the US market at 24%.