GOP leader seeks briefing on Biden’s approval of China-linked green energy project.
EXCLUSIVE: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Requests Briefing on China-Linked Green Energy Firm’s EV Battery Plant Project
National Security Concerns Raised Over Approval of Gotion’s $2.4 Billion Project
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) has taken action to investigate the approval of a China-linked green energy firm’s electric vehicle battery plant project. McMorris Rodgers has requested a briefing from a top Treasury Department panel regarding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and its role in approving Gotion’s project.
Experts in national security and Republicans have expressed concerns over the approval of Gotion, the parent company of Gotion High-Tech Power Energy, for a $2.4 billion EV battery plant project in Big Rapids, Michigan. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviews transactions involving overseas entities, and its decision to greenlight Gotion’s project has raised eyebrows.
McMorris Rodgers is conducting a broader investigation into President Joe Biden’s climate agenda and has reached out to CFIUS for information on the Gotion matter. She stated, “Energy and Commerce Republicans are committed to preventing the Biden administration from handing China the keys to our auto future. That’s why we’ve asked CFIUS for a briefing on their role in Gotion’s approval and have recently begun probing Ford’s partnership with CCP-linked EV company CATL.”
This development follows McMorris Rodgers and other GOP members on the Energy and Commerce panel demanding answers from Ford Motor Company regarding its partnership with the Chinese battery firm Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). Ford’s plan to invest $3.5 billion in a lithium iron phosphate battery facility, in collaboration with CATL, has raised concerns among Republicans.
Gotion’s project, like Ford’s, has the support of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). The California-based company plans to construct two 550,000-square-foot production plants and other supporting facilities in northern Michigan. In April, Michigan’s state Senate Appropriations Committee approved $175 million in taxpayer dollars for Gotion’s project, which received CFIUS approval in June after a national security review.
McMorris Rodgers emphasized the potential negative impact of such partnerships, stating, “Partnerships like these play right into China’s hands to take American jobs and weaken our national security.”
Gotion High-Tech, which wholly controls Gotion and is headquartered in Hefei City, China, has a history of ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The company formed a CCP branch in 2010 and a CCP committee in 2014. It has also employed 923 CCP members, including CEO Li Zhen, who serves as the committee’s party secretary.
The “Articles of Association” of Gotion High-Tech state that the company must establish a Party organization and carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China. The chairman of the company is also the secretary of the Party committee.
The location of Gotion’s project in Michigan is significant due to its proximity to Camp Grayling, the largest National Guard training facility in the United States. Michigan’s National Guard trains a portion of the military in Taiwan at this facility on an annual basis. This raises further concerns about the potential implications of Gotion’s project.
Erin Walsh, a former member of the National Security Council and now a senior research fellow for international studies at the Heritage Foundation’s Asia Studies Center, highlighted the seriousness of the CCP threat. She stated, “At this point in time, all federal and state government officials have been apprised of the serious threat of the CCP to the U.S. In the case of Gotion, state and federal legislators, as well as the local community, have expressed their opposition and concerns about their ownership structure and ties to the CCP.”
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and Gotion did not respond to requests for comment.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
