Western politicians need to stop fearmongering about Chinese goods

Some politicians in the United Kingdom made the bizarre claim in British media last week that China could use tractors and other internet-linked agricultural machinery to spy on farmers there.

The Coalition on Secure Technology, headed by Labour MP Graeme Downie, claimed that UK's agricultural sector is dangerously exposed to a hidden security risk embedded in widely used farming tools, saying that chips in GPS-guided machines, drones and irrigation systems open the back door to data on UK food security.

If this were true, it would mean machinery and equipment made in the UK and other Western countries have already compromised people around the world for a long time now.

The CST claimed that Beijing could use these tractors to gather data on crop yields, production forecasts and livestock populations.

But why would China want to gather such data so painstakingly via tractors when they are all readily available public data published by the UK government authorities?

The CST went on to claim that the tractors could do more harm than just gathering intelligence; they can potentially be remotely shut down through a so-called "kill switch".

Such paranoia is nothing new.

Senior US officials from the previous Joe Biden administration in the United States, such as then commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, made similar claims years ago in a bid to ban Chinese electric vehicles in the US and shield US automakers, which are lagging far behind in the field.

I wonder if Raimondo and Downie would say the same about Tesla cars. Or even Boeing and Airbus planes, which could just fall from the sky because of a similar sudden "kill switch".

Also, are these planes gathering data while flying over China and other countries? How about the tens of millions of cars made and sold in China by General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota, or Apple's iPhones and watches?

To be sure, I am just mimicking the hysterical paranoia of some Western politicians.

In contrast, China has been far more accepting of Western technology.

Since the late 1970s when China was still relatively uncompetitive, China pursued reform and opening-up, actively welcoming Western products and investment despite the enormous pressure this placed on certain domestic industries.

Yet China chose to use this pressure as a driving force to push through economic reform and industrial upgrading, rather than shutting its doors or smearing foreign products as security threats.

Some Western politicians have also fearmongered about toys and various electric appliances made in China, such as rice cookers, TV sets, microwave ovens and air conditioners.

After all, they all contain smart chips that, in the eyes of some Western politicians, could be used as leverage.

The latest reckless fearmongering about Chinese technology reflects the desperation that has set in as Chinese technological advancement has left many Western countries behind.

For these Western politicians, countries such as China should be condemned to making only cheap low-end and labor-intensive goods, and never be allowed to become a peer competitor, let alone surpass them.

Instead of trying to catch up with China in those areas, their underhanded strategy is to pull China down by smearing Chinese products and adopting protectionist measures.

That only helps distract those countries from fixing their own problems.

However, such a strategy won't succeed and won't stop China from further climbing the tech ladder and global supply chains.

The advancement of Chinese EVs, solar panels, wind turbines and lithium batteries should be celebrated by all because these clean technology goods contribute to the vital global fight against climate change.

The fact that China made 10 of the top 15 bestselling EV brands in the world in 2026 shows that customers like these cars despite the fearmongering by Western politicians who are trying to deprive them of such great products.

It's time those politicians stopped fearmongering about Chinese goods.

The author is a China Daily columnist.

chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn