The UK's Ministry of Defence(MoD)has instructed staff not to discuss secrets in cars amid"China spying fears,"UK media outlet The Telegraph claimed on Monday.A Chinese expert said on Tuesday that this exposes distrust toward Chinese products,as some in the West,including the UK,relentlessly push unfounded,fear-mongering narratives about Chinese products.
"Warning stickers"banning military staff from discussing secrets have been fitted inside the MoD's fleet of electric cars amid fears China could be eavesdropping on them,The Telegraph claimed.
Notably,the report said that a source insisted there was no evidence to show any sensitive data had been passed to third parties,while an MoD spokesperson said that"this policy applies to all MoD civilian hire vehicles,not just electric ones."
However,The Telegraph cited Colonel Philip Ingram,who asserted that"it would be obvious to anyone that the cars that will be used by MoD personnel would have the potential to transmit data-that includes any device connected to the car or voice data.The Ministry of Defence should have realised this would be something the Chinese government would exploit."
Zuo Xiaodong,vice-president of the China Information Security Research Institute,told the Global Times on Tuesday that without providing any proof,the accusations are extremely irresponsible.
"Jumping to fear-mongering conclusions is utterly irresponsible,"he stated,noting that this reflects a deep-seated anti-China mindset within some Western organizations and media outlets,which has contributed to unfounded distrust toward Chinese products.
The Telegraph claimed that the MoD has leased hundreds of electric cars as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and hit net zero targets,including some built by a Chinese-owned firm.The MoD has already banned some electric vehicles(EVs)with Chinese components from being parked near sensitive military bases,the report claimed.
The Telegraph also cited an official report from the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory,claiming that China,which dominates the EV market,could use the vehicles to snoop on conversations.
Zuo said that such unfounded claims are examples of irresponsible and groundless fear-mongering by some Western elements regarding the safety of Chinese technology products,including China's competitive EVs,revealing an ulterior motive to smear China and its products.
"As the world transitions to an era of smart,connected transportation,internet security risks are a universal challenge-this is true for all automakers and nations,"Zuo said."However,the insinuations targeting China and Chinese automakers are clearly driven by an ulterior design."
The UK MoD's reported move came as Western media outlets hype so-called security concerns about Chinese EVs.Earlier this month,several Western media outlets claimed that bus providers in Denmark and Norway,along with the UK government,were investigating an alleged"security loophole"in fleets of buses made by a Chinese EV manufacturer.Notably,NBC cited an industrial expert saying that"it just comes down to trust."
Beyond publicly discrediting China,Zuo suggested that these moves have a second motive:to curb the growth and overseas expansion of the Chinese EV industry,stressing that Chinese EVs are gaining global popularity due to their competitive features,value for money,and contribution to the green vehicle transition.
"These claims disregard public interest,the necessity of trust in international technological cooperation,and the basic norms of the global division of labor,"Zuo said,adding that such irresponsible fear-mongering would only undermine global cooperation in critical areas such as the green transition.
At a regular press conference on July 25,Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China's new-energy capacity is advanced capacity that can bridge the world's"green gap."
Guo cited data from the International Energy Agency,which estimated that there will be a shortage of 27 million new-energy vehicles globally by 2030."The false'Chinese overcapacity'narrative reflects an incomplete understanding of the relations between supply and demand in a globalized market,and is just a pretext for protectionist measures,"Guo said.
Chinese officials have also repeatedly expressed opposition to some Western politicians'overstretching the concept of national security in an attempt to crack down on Chinese products and companies.
