Chinese Espionage Quietly Penetrates Critical Infrastructure in the US

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is speaking during the hearing of the House Select Committee in Washington on March 6, 2024, in a still from video. The Select Committee on the CCP/ Screenshot via NTD

News Analysis 

Recent investigations into Chinese-built cargo cranes used at ports throughout the United States found that some of them are equipped with communication devices capable of remote access, posing a threat to national security. Lawmakers are raising concerns to the Biden administration in response to past and present espionage efforts from China, citing potential threats of attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure.

A congressional probe into the Chinese-built cargo cranes installed in various ports across the country revealed that these cranes are equipped with communication devices, some of which do not support regular operations but can be remotely accessed. The discovery raises concerns that Chinese-manufactured equipment could threaten U.S. ports’ security.

These large cranes were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., with nearly 80 percent of U.S. ports utilizing this type of crane. The Pentagon and intelligence officials are concerned about their potential interference and espionage activities.

Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, warned, “[The Chinese regime] is looking for every opportunity to collect valuable intelligence and position themselves to exploit vulnerabilities by systematically burrowing into America’s critical infrastructure, including in the maritime sector.”

There is also growing concern that Chinese hackers have prepared in advance to disrupt U.S. infrastructure in the event of hostile conflicts.

To eliminate such risks, the Biden administration announced last month a plan to invest in Mitsui & Co. (USA), a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui Group, to replace the China-made cranes at America’s ports.

On Jan. 31, FBI Director Christopher Wray reported to Congress that Chinese hackers are frequently targeting critical infrastructure within the United States, including the power grid, water treatment facilities, and transportation systems, and that China seeks “to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if or when China decides the time has come to strike.”

Stealing Advanced Technology

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) methods of stealing secrets are not limited to hacking but also include traditional espionage tactics.

On March 6, the Department of Justice announced that Linwei Ding, a former software engineer at Google and a Chinese citizen, was charged with stealing Google’s AI trade secrets during his secret collaboration with two Chinese companies.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the indictment at the American Bar Association conference in San Francisco. According to the indictment released by the Northern District of California court, Mr. Ding was employed by Google in 2019 and had access to confidential information from the company’s supercomputing data centers. He uploaded hundreds of files to his personal Google Cloud account two years ago and resigned from Google at the end of last year.

Prosecutors revealed that weeks after the theft, Mr. Ding became the chief technology officer of a Chinese startup tech company. Additionally, Mr. Ding founded an AI-related startup company in China, serving as its CEO.

In January, the FBI raided Mr. Ding’s residence, seizing his electronic devices and personal accounts, including over 500 unique confidential information files stolen from Google.

Potential Risks of Chinese Electric Vehicles

Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles, which have rapidly risen with strong support from the CCP, are now being exported worldwide. Due to the high technological content of these vehicles, they pose security risks to the United States, prompting concerns.

The White House has instructed the Department of Commerce to conduct a national security risk investigation into Chinese-made “connected vehicles.” White House officials pointed out that electric vehicle technology, which relies on the internet for navigation tools and autonomous driving systems, can not only be used as a spying tool but can also lead to traffic paralysis. Once connected to personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, other vehicles, car manufacturers, and infrastructure, these electric vehicles pose a national security risk.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Jan. 28, “A sophisticated EV, and then an autonomous vehicle, is filled with thousands of semiconductors and sensors. It collects a huge amount of information about the driver, the location of the vehicle, the surroundings of the vehicle.”

She suggested that if China can obtain such information on a large scale, it will pose serious risks to the security and privacy of American citizens.

Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motor (GWM) displays the new compact electric vehicle "ORA Good Cat 03" during the 30th Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) in Tangerang on Aug. 10, 2023. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

The US-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement

President Joe Biden criticized China’s “unfair economic practices” during his State of the Union address on March 7, emphasizing the need to restrict the export of advanced U.S. technology to China.

On March 6, the State Department issued a statement saying that the United States agreed to extend the expired “U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (STA)” for another six months but did not commit to a longer extension. During this period, the United States will seek amendments to the agreement.

In June last year, Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House GOP China Task Force, and ten other Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, pointing out the integration of the CCP’s military and civilian technology and how the STA was taken advantage of by the CCP to advance its military goals. The letter urged the Biden administration to terminate the agreement.

The STA was established over four decades ago for scientific and technological cooperation and exchanges. It was the first formal cooperation agreement signed between the two countries. The agreement had a term of five years and was renewable upon expiration. The last renewal was in 2018 and expired on Aug. 27, 2023. Since then, the United States has decided not to renew the agreement comprehensively but only to extend it for short periods. This is the second extension.

China’s “De-Americanization” 

As the United States resists CCP infiltration, the CCP continues its diversified infiltration. It also attempts to disengage from certain high-tech areas in the United States. The CCP’s recently disclosed document from 2022 is one such example, requiring Chinese state-owned enterprises to eliminate U.S.-made office and communication software, also known as “de-Americanization.”

According to insiders, China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission issued Document 79 in September 2022, requiring state-owned enterprises in finance, energy, and other industries to replace foreign software in their IT systems by 2027.

At the time, the United States was imposing sanctions and tightening restrictions on the export of chips to Chinese tech companies.

Foreign products targeted for elimination include hardware from manufacturers such as Dell, IBM, and Cisco. Subsequently, most of the equipment from these companies was replaced by Chinese products.

For years, the CCP has promoted self-sufficiency from high-tech to essential daily necessities, reducing reliance on the West. Software applications in IT systems are among the last bastions where American companies profit in China. As a result, companies like Microsoft and Oracle are gradually losing their edge in China.

This signals that U.S.-China decoupling is gradually expanding into multiple fields.