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“The government’s decision is that the agreement does not serve the interests of national security,” Rasa Jakilaitienė, a spokesman for the prime minister, told BNS.
In a specially convened meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers considered the negative conclusion issued in January by the government commission that inspects transactions important to national security.
It is not made public.
After the government banned the installation of X-ray detection equipment Xuct by the Chinese company Nuctech, Lithuanian airports say they will consider possible alternatives.
Tadas Vasiliauskas, representative of Lithuanian airports, told BNS that following the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers, the contract with the Chinese company that submitted the best offer will not be signed.
“They made the best offer and came in first place. Today’s government decision is clear, the contract will not be signed. In the near future, we will analyze alternatives for the purchase of this equipment, ”said an airport representative.
The airports themselves and Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the Seimas Defense and National Security Committee, addressed the government commission on Chinese investments.
He then warned that Nuctech’s X-ray detection equipment at airports could collect passenger and baggage data that would be available to Chinese intelligence and security services under Chinese law.
Nuctech denies the allegations. It claims that the equipment offered to Lithuania is manufactured in a plant near Warsaw, Poland “in accordance with the strictest EU and national safety and performance standards.”
The US Wall Street Journal reported last June that US agencies had launched an active campaign against the deployment of Nuctech equipment at European ports, airports and border checkpoints.
Critics say Nuctech’s low-cost strategy suggests that the company does not operate on a commercial basis, but seeks to ensure control of its strategic infrastructure.
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