Vilnius Airport, Lithuania
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member Lithuania has banned airport security surveillance equipment manufactured by China’s Tongfang Nuctech Technology Co. due to security concerns, officials said on 29 June. On the same day, Ukrainian authorities announced sanctions against China’s Beijing Skyrizon Aviation, including freezing the company’s assets in Ukraine, restricting business transactions and banning the transfer of assets out of Ukraine for three years.
A spokesman for Lithuania’s new prime minister, Ingrida Simonyte, said a government-appointed commission ruled that Tongfang Nuctech’s equipment was incompatible with Lithuania’s “national security interests,” according to AFP. The spokesman declined to give details, saying the information was confidential.
According to the report, Western countries are increasingly suspicious of the Chinese Communist Party‘s investments in critical infrastructure, including the 5th generation of mobile communications (5G) telecommunications networks.
Laurynas Kasciunas, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s national security and defense committee, said investments and purchases in strategic infrastructure must comply with transatlantic security guidelines. He said the decision shows that Lithuania will not join the technological circle created and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Tongfang Nuctech, which originated from Tsinghua University, has been actively pursuing contracts for security systems at Lithuanian airports, and last year won three bids to set up baggage screening at Lithuania’s international airports, but has yet to sign a contract. Lithuania’s intelligence agency warned in its annual report that “active penetration of Chinese investments” poses the risk of “losing control over resources and infrastructure, market manipulation and political influence.
The Communist Party’s embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, argued on 29 May that Lithuania’s decision was based on political reasons.
The U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, Robert Gilchrist, welcomed the decision as “a step toward safeguarding Lithuania’s national security and core infrastructure.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year that the United States was calling on European countries not to install Tongfang Nuctech’s systems at airports. The U.S. has also described Chinese 5G network equipment provider huawei as a national security threat because the company is beholden to China’s Communist Party.
Lithuania is a member of the European Union and a solid U.S. ally within NATO, with U.S. troops stationed there, while Lithuania also wants more military power to counter neighboring Russia.
Ukraine sanctions Beijing Tianjiao
Ukrainian officials also said on the 29th that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had signed a decree imposing sanctions on Beijing Skyrizon, including freezing assets and restricting trade, and forbidding the removal of funds from Ukraine for a period of three years, until January 2024. The Kiev authorities say Beijing Skyrizon is trying to take control of Ukraine’s largest aerospace company.
According to Reuters, the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party have previously argued over Ukraine’s Motor Sich. Motor Sich is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft and helicopter engines, and Ukraine’s only manufacturer of aircraft and helicopter engines and industrial gas turbines. The United States opposes the acquisition of this company by Chinese investors. This puts Ukraine in a dilemma, as it relies on the United States for the most military aid while also seeking deeper business ties with China.
The Ukrainian News Agency reports that the sanctions list includes not only companies related to Beijing Tianjiao, but also Beijing Xinwei Group, which controls Beijing Tianjiao. Wang Jing, chairman of Xinwei Group, is also on the list of sanctions.
Beijing Tianjiao and Ukraine’s DCH Group originally acquired more than 50 percent of Madasic, but the Ukrainian Antimonopoly Committee rejected the acquisition application last August after the U.S. government repeatedly voiced its opposition. Before former U.S. President Donald Trump left office, he placed Beijing Tianjiao on the Military End User (MEU) list, restricting its procurement of U.S. products and technologies.
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