The Global Times is a Chinese government publication controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Its October 31 column celebrates China’s expansion of its dominance over the the electric vehicle and battery supply line into the United States and the rest of the world.
The column directly highlights Gotion’s E.V. battery factories planned for Illinois and Michigan as examples of China’s expected preeminence in the U.S. market. Those projects are being subsidized with billions of state and federal tax dollars, and Gotion has multiple ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“China has formed a relatively complete EV manufacturing supply chain, and about 70 percent of the global battery production capacity is located in China,” says the article. China “has formed the world’s largest battery manufacturing value chain, extending from material research and development, battery production, recycling to equipment support….”
And now, “‘Going global’ is an inevitable trend for Chinese battery makers,” the articles says. “The US is a hot destination for battery and EV investment. The supply chain of the traditional internal combustion engine auto-making there is relatively complete, which could bring new market space for Chinese companies.”
What’s the first example in the column of the projection of Chinese dominance abroad?
Gotion, with its Illinois and Michigan projects. From the Global Times column:
As one of the latest examples, Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-tech Co announced two investment plans of battery plants in two US states – Illinois and Michigan.
The planned $2-billion lithium battery manufacturing plant in Illinois is expected to produce 10 GWh of lithium battery packs and 40 GWh of lithium-ion battery cells annually.
Gotion said that it will invest $2.36 billion in the Michigan plant, with plans to complete plant construction by the end of 2031.
The Global Times column warns that Chinese companies may face more regulatory scrutiny and market access restrictions in the U.S. than American companies do.
If only that were so. For its Illinois project that will cost Gotion just $2 billion, state and federal taxpayers will hand Gotion $8 billion.
Gotion should not be in the U.S. and its two projects should be killed. Polls in both Illinois and Michigan confirm that voters want Gotion out. And our governments have no business handing out billions in taxpayer subsidies to companies with direct Chinese Communist Party ties, especially in sensitive industries.