The company Nuctech has won a tender from Swedavia to modernise the security checkpoint at Arlanda's Terminal 5. This work will be completed in 2023.

According to Aftonbladet, the contract was signed last Friday.

"They won because they submitted the best bid," says Annika Balazs, strategic procurement manager at Swedavia, to Aftonbladet.

Sensitive information

Nuctech is a world-leading manufacturer of screening equipment for people, luggage, cargo packages and vehicles.

However, according to the AP news agency, the company has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the country's military, prompting critics to worry that China may be accessing sensitive information through the company.

Nuctech has been blacklisted in the US for that very reason, but in Europe it has done better and is present in 26 out of 27 EU countries, according to AP. These include several European ports and several European airports.

"Not normal prices"

According to experts the AP spoke to in a number of European countries, Nuctech has fallen as low as 30-50 percent below competitors' bids in procurements, which is possible thanks to the subsidies it receives from the Chinese state.

"Nuctech makes bids that no one can match. These are not normal prices," Didi Kirsten Tatlow, author of the book "China's Quest for Foreign Technology," told The Associated Press.

"It's not a normal business. Rather, they are part of a state development offensive.

Lars Nicander, senior advisor at the Swedish Defence University, is also critical of Swedavia's choice of company.

"It sounds strange to choose this company when the same products have been blacklisted elsewhere. That should be a warning bell. We know that the Chinese state uses surveillance systems to vacuum the West of information and personal data, and often it is about backdoors in the systems that leak sensitive information back to China, he says to Aftonbladet.

Swedavia: "Will sign a security protection agreement"

In a written comment to SVT News, Swedavia writes that Nuctech is an established supplier of inspection equipment, such as X-ray systems, to a number of airports around Europe.

"In this case, it is a standard system and X-ray equipment for the new security checkpoint that is now being built at Stockholm Arlanda. The equipment from Nuctech is approved by ECAC, which is the responsible authority for the approval of inspection equipment in Europe. As far as the agreement is concerned, we have complied with applicable procurement legislation and the procurement also complies with the rules of the Protective Security Act. Swedavia will sign a protective security agreement with the supplier."