{"text":[[{"start":7.3,"text":"The EU has blocked public funding for Chinese providers of a key technology used to install solar panels and other energy infrastructure, citing security concerns in Brussels’ latest crackdown on sensitive China-made imports."}],[{"start":21.65,"text":"The European Commission said imported inverters used to control solar panel installations and other energy technology represented one of “the most pressing threats” to the EU’s critical infrastructure and that any funding would be stopped from November 1. "}],[{"start":37.15,"text":"Siobhan McGarry, a Commission spokesperson, said foreign actors could use inverters to manipulate energy networks across the bloc and gain “unauthorised access to operational data”."}],[{"start":48.05,"text":"“In practice, this could mean a remote shutdown of member states’ networks leading to countrywide blackouts. Given the gravity of these threats, the Commission is taking action,” she said."}],[{"start":58.949999999999996,"text":"Europe has taken an increasingly hardline approach to Chinese technology imports that it judges to be a security risk or likely to undermine key industrial sectors such as the car industry. "}],[{"start":69.64999999999999,"text":"The Commission has recently outlined its Industrial Accelerator Act, which will exclude China from public funding for other clean technologies such as electric vehicles. Meanwhile, its cyber security act will exclude Chinese companies such as Huawei from telecommunications networks and solar energy systems."}],[{"start":87.79999999999998,"text":"Explaining the crossover with this legislation, McGarry said action was needed “now” to tackle the threats linked to inverters. "}],[{"start":95.79999999999998,"text":"China currently controls more than half of the global market for inverters, and an official said Europe had a similar level of dependence. However, there were European makers of inverters and also alternatives available from other countries, such as Japan and South Korea, the official said."}],[{"start":112.94999999999999,"text":"Using alternatives to Chinese inverters would increase the cost of solar installations by less than 2 per cent, the official said. Inverters represented about 5 per cent of the total cost of utility-scaled solar installation."}],[{"start":126.79999999999998,"text":"Chinese officials dismiss concerns about dependence on their country’s green technology, saying Beijing has no intention to use it for political advantage and that cheap turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy products reduce the much greater risk stemming from high carbon emissions."}],[{"start":143.99999999999997,"text":"A report last week by Loom, a non-profit organisation focused on economic, environmental and national security issues, said dependence on Chinese green technology was making European countries vulnerable to cyber attacks, trade restrictions and espionage."}],[{"start":160.19999999999996,"text":"Asked about the report, the foreign ministry in Beijing said the essence of China-EU trade relations was “mutual benefit and win-win outcomes” and should not be “politicised or subjected to an overly broad security framing”."}],[{"start":175.29999999999995,"text":"Chinese officials in Brussels and Huawei and Sungrow, China’s two biggest solar inverter manufacturers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the move to restrict EU funding, which was agreed by the Commission in early April but not officially announced until Monday. The decision was first reported by the South China Morning Post. "}],[{"start":196.84999999999997,"text":"Additional reporting by Edward White in Beijing"}],[{"start":206.89999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777903448_4562.mp3"}