US Seaports Protected from Chinese Surveillance and Intrusion with Bipartisan Bill.

United States Representatives Unite to Protect American Seaports from Chinese Influence

Two members of the United States House of Representatives, one Republican and one Democrat, are working together to protect American seaports from Chinese influence. The bipartisan effort aims to increase vigilance and reduce the use of technology, medicine, and other products produced in China, which is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The U.S. is currently engaged in a competition for global superiority with this regime and form of government.

The Port Crane Security and Inspection Act of 2023

On May 10, Representatives Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) introduced the Port Crane Security and Inspection Act of 2023. This measure is intended to protect and prevent China and other adversaries from influencing and conducting surveillance on, and even sabotaging, the infrastructure of American seaports, which are critical components of the U.S. supply chain.

The legislation targets and places specific focus on the U.S.’s purchase and use of Chinese-made cargo cranes. About 80 percent of the cranes used in U.S. ports are made in China.

• The bill limits the use of “foreign cranes made by U.S. adversaries, like Communist China
• Requires the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to inspect foreign cranes for potential security vulnerabilities before they are placed in operation
• Calls for CISA to report to Congress about critical and high-risk security vulnerabilities posed by foreign cranes in U.S. ports

United States Representative Carlos A. Giménez (R-Fla.) is a member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Communist Chinese Party.

Representative Garamendi commented in the release that “Safeguarding our nation’s seaports from foreign cyberattacks and industrial espionage is not a partisan issue. The best way to ensure secure critical infrastructure at our major cargo ports is to make these cranes in America in the first place, and that’s what Congressman Gimenez’s and my bill accomplishes.”

A Growing Threat

The Port Crane Security and Inspection Act also follows the episode this past winter that put the American military defense on high alert: the Chinese spy balloon that an American fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. The balloon had traveled over part of Alaska and into Canada, and then re-entered the U.S. in Montana, and continued eastward, along the way, according to U.S. Security officials, collecting information from sensitive areas.

The bill was filed in the wake of a Wall Street Journal article, published on March 5, that caused a stir among Congressional lawmakers. The article reported that U.S. security and Pentagon officials are deeply concerned about the ability of the CCP to use cranes made in China and operating in U.S. ports to imperil American security.

“Some national-security and Pentagon officials have compared ship-to-shore cranes made by the China-based manufacturer, ZPMC, to a Trojan horse,” reported the Wall Street Journal. “While comparably well-made and inexpensive, they contain sophisticated sensors that can register and track the provenance and destination of containers, prompting concerns that China could capture information about material being shipped in or out of the country to support U.S. military operations around the world.”