(Yicai) March 11 -- Chinese state-owned crane maker Zhenhua Port Machinery denied its container cranes pose cybersecurity threats after an official US investigation claimed China-made cranes at US ports contain communications equipment with no apparent purpose or installation record.

ZPMC’s cranes are designed, manufactured, transported, installed, debugged, and delivered strictly by international standards, applicable laws and regulations, and technical specifications determined by customers, the Shanghai-based company said in two separate announcements released yesterday and on March 9.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party of the US House Committee on Homeland Security and House completed an investigation on the more than 200 Chinese-made cranes at US ports and related facilities and found out that they contain communications equipment with no clear purpose or record of their installation, US media outlet CNN reported on March 8.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Feb. 21 granting the United States Coast Guard greater power to implement cybersecurity checks at ports and proposing to phase out China-made container cranes and replace them with Japanese ones over potential espionage threats.

Around 80 percent of cranes used at US ports are made in China and use Chinese software. To address this critical issue, the Biden Administration allocated a USD20 billion budget for the next five years to purchase Japan-made cranes from the US unit of Japanese corporation Mitsui Group.

Founded in 1992, ZPMC is one of the world’s largest heavy equipment manufacturers. It exports port machinery to over 300 ports worldwide, seizing over 80 percent of the global market share and ranking first by exports for 18 consecutive years. Its US business accounts for less than 10 percent of the total.

ZPMC’s shares [SHA: 600320] closed 1.2 percent up at CNY3.39 (47 US cents) in Shanghai today. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione