Shanghai Zhenhua denied there was a cybersecurity risk at its U.S. ports. By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited (ZPMC) large cargo carrier transports a dock crane at the new container terminal in the Mariel Special Development Zone, Cuba, September 22, 2013. REUTERS/Desmond Boylan/File

BEIJING (Reuters) – Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) said on Sunday its cranes do not pose a cybersecurity threat after a U.S. congressional committee questioned the Chinese state-owned company’s work on cranes bound for the United States.

The House of Representatives security panel, which is scrutinizing ZPMC’s installation of equipment from Swiss engineering group ABB (ST:) on US-bound ship-to-shore cranes, invited ABB executives to a public hearing in January to clarify its relationship with ZPMC. He said it raised “significant concerns”.

“We take the concerns of the United States seriously and believe that these reports could easily mislead the public without sufficient review of the facts,” ZPMC said in the filing, citing investigations by the Department of Homeland Security and the Strategic Competitiveness Commission.

“The cranes provided by ZPMC do not pose a cybersecurity risk to any port,” he said.

ABB said it sold its control and electrical equipment to a number of crane manufacturers, including Chinese companies, which in turn sold cranes directly to U.S. ports.

The United States and China, the world’s largest economies, frequently accuse each other of cyberattacks and industrial espionage. Washington this year said it had disrupted a Chinese cyber-espionage operation targeting U.S. infrastructure and was investigating imports of Chinese vehicles over national security risks. Previously, it had banned Chinese telecom companies.

ZPMC said that the cranes it supplies are used in ports around the world, including the United States, and comply with international standards and relevant laws.

ZPMC, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s largest port machinery manufacturers with a fleet of more than 20 transport vessels, according to its website.

ABB generates 16% of its sales in China, second only to the US market (24%).