Chinese state shipping group Cosco Shipping has rejected US allegations that its vessels carried concealed equipment used to intercept military communications and collect intelligence for Beijing, calling the claims “totally unfounded”, according to Cosco Shipping.
The company said on 3 September that communications, navigation, safety and operational equipment aboard its vessels was “used solely for legitimate commercial purposes”, including navigation safety, ship-to-shore communications and emergency response.
The allegations came from two senior officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration. They alleged Cosco had maintained a decades-long intelligence-collection relationship with Beijing that enabled China to gather communications signals from ships and aircraft in Europe, North America and Asia. One official said the equipment was intended to gather information on military communications technology and developments in encryption.
The officials did not identify the equipment but said it involved signals-intelligence collection technology rather than standard communications hardware. They also alleged that the programme supported maritime reconnaissance, monitoring of shipping routes and early warning on foreign military targets.
Cosco said its merchant ships were not used to intercept military communications or gather intelligence and reserved the right to take legal action to protect its reputation.
China’s embassy in Washington also rejected the allegations. Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang said the Chinese government would never require a company or individual to collect or provide data or intelligence overseas in violation of local law, calling the intelligence-collection narrative “totally baseless”.
The Pentagon added China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited to its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies in January 2025. The designation is separate from the latest allegations and does not itself constitute US sanctions.
China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited is a Chinese central state-owned enterprise active in shipping, ports and logistics. At the end of 2025, its fleet comprised 1,660 vessels with aggregate capacity of 135m dwt. Its container shipping arm, COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co Ltd, owned and operated 456 containerships with about 2.4m TEU at the end of May 2026. Together with Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), the carriers owned and operated 596 containerships with combined capacity of about 3.6m TEU, serving 663 ports in 146 countries and regions.