House GOP demands information from Homeland’s Mayorkas on threat of Chinese tech at U.S. ports

House Republicans are demanding information from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to infrastructure at U.S. ports.

They are calling on Mayorkas to provide answers about how the Biden administration are attempting to stop the CCP from using their technology that is embedded in cargo cranes and other shipping infrastructure at American ports for purposes of spying on the U.S. and perhaps sabotaging American interests, according to the Epoch Times.

Chairs of two House committees and four House subcommittees sent a letter May 10 demanding that Mayorkas immediately provide the information which House Committee on Homeland Security members had previously requested on April 23.

They wrote that they are "conducting oversight of the presence of Chinese software and operational technology in U.S. port infrastructure. This includes software used for cranes, terminal industrial control systems, power systems, and telecommunications equipment."

A bipartisan bill was introduced this week by Representatives Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) focusing on "inspecting and monitoring port cranes made in China to ensure that they do not contain technology used to spy, create societal disorder, inflict physical damage, and disrupt the function of seaports, which are critically important to the U.S. supply chain," according to the outlet.

About 80 percent of the cranes used in American seaports are manufactured by a Chinese company, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC). Chinese-made cranes are also in operation at ports used by the U.S. military.

"We remain concerned about the security risks associated with the widespread use of Chinese-manufactured cranes that threaten to undermine our national security, particularly those made by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a Chinese state-owned business whose governing shareholder is China Communications Construction Company," wrote the legislators in their letter to Mayorkas.

"We request additional information on the prevalence of such equipment and technology at U.S. ports and DHS actions to address the potential national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) use of this technology in U.S. port infrastructure."

Those "security risks include cyberattacks, espionage, and supply chain vulnerabilities due to the shared software and interconnectivity among ZPMC cranes operating at our nation's ports."