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The rise of Chinese electric cars could pose a national security threat if the vehicles expand into the US market, according to the Biden administration.
On Wednesday, the US Commerce Department announced it’s launching an investigation into the potential security risks of “connected vehicles” that contain components from China.
The goal is to come up with rules to stamp out the potential hacking danger, given that today's cars are loaded with computing systems and sensors. No evidence of any real-world hacking was provided. But the White House is particularly worried that the Chinese government could exploit these cars to steal data from users or even disable the vehicles.
In a statement, President Biden said: “China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”
He adds: "China imposes restrictions on American autos and other foreign autos operating in China. Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?”
The Commerce Department will solicit public feedback on the risks and how to guard against them. The scrutiny echoes US concerns about Chinese vendor Huawei selling telecom equipment to wireless carriers across the country. The US eventually banned such sales, citing the risk of China exploiting the equipment for spying and hacking purposes, although Huawei has denied it would ever permit such activities.
Hence, it’s possible the US could take similar action against Chinese-made cars, along with Chinese-made vehicle components. The US was also close to banning another popular Chinese-made service with TikTok. But the company later reached a deal designed to safeguard user information from Chinese influence, although security concerns about TikTok continue to linger among US lawmakers.