Chinese experts have criticized President Donald Trump's executive order to exclude foreign equipment from the power grid, calling it a 'political stunt.'
On August 26, Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency, citing that foreign equipment used in power systems could pose security threats. While the order does not explicitly name China, it is widely viewed as targeting Chinese products, which account for a significant portion of imports.
The Chinese state-run Global Times, citing experts, reported on August 28 that 'the U.S. industry claims it needs Chinese products, yet the political sphere calls for a ban.' The report also noted that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) stated that Chinese products are safe, while the White House has labeled them as threats. In January, the DOE analyzed about 30 Chinese inverters and found 'no evidence of malicious communication equipment.' The report concluded that even if one inverter were hacked, the impact on the entire power grid would be limited. The media emphasized that despite the DOE's findings clearing Chinese equipment of suspicion, the executive order declared a national emergency, highlighting a 'serious inconsistency.'
The media predicted that the actual impact of the ban would be negative. It stated, 'With transformer delivery times in the U.S. increasing from about 50 weeks in 2021 to over 120 weeks now, limiting Chinese supply will further delay power grid improvements and increase costs, ultimately burdening American ratepayers and businesses.'
The media criticized, 'The U.S. is exaggerating the threat from China for its own political purposes,' asserting that 'this measure is merely a political show.'
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized during a regular briefing on August 27 that 'China has always opposed the excessive expansion of the concept of national security to suppress foreign companies' and expressed hope that the U.S. would provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for companies from all countries.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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