Kankakee Times

In a bid to establish a significant presence in the American heartland, Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturer Gotion Inc. faced rejection from a proposal in Alabama over national security concerns before securing controversial projects in Michigan and Illinois.

Gotion's proposal to develop a factory in Muscle Shoals, Ala., on the site of the shuttered FreightCar America factory was declined by local officials who became wary of the company's ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Cella, the co-founder of the Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group, and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), voiced bipartisan concerns about the governors of Michigan and Illinois spending taxpayer money on companies deeply connected to the CCP.

"Unlike other states, why do the governors of Michigan and Illinois spend their taxpayers' money bringing in companies deeply tied to the Chinese Communist Party into their states? Don’t they understand the clear and present danger this totalitarian regime presents? It’s a bipartisan issue," Cella told Fox News Digital.

Britt emphasized the CCP as the greatest national security and geopolitical threat to the United States, urging vigilance against Chinese economic aggression.

"The Chinese Communist Party is our country’s greatest national security and geopolitical threat, and we must remember everything they do is as our adversary,” Britt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"There is no doubt that the CCP wants to plant their flag in the American heartland, including right here in Alabama," she continued. "As Communist China continues to attempt to buy up critical industries, supply chains, and land across the United States, it’s imperative that we remain vigilant and exercise all due caution to protect our interests and safeguard America’s future."

Successful recalls of pro-Gotion township officials in Green Township, Michigan, highlighted the resistance to the Chinese company's influence.

Residents voiced discontent over officials not addressing their concerns about the proposed Gotion plant. Similar efforts gained momentum in Manteno, where locals felt unheard by Mayor Tim Nugent, the Village Board, and the Village of Manteno Planning Commission regarding the proposed lithium-ion car battery plant tied to the Chinese Communist Party.

The controversy underscores the growing challenges and concerns surrounding Chinese companies' expansion in critical sectors in the United States.

A review of Gotion, Inc. by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States was called for due to concerns over its ties to the CCP and potential influence over green-energy tax incentives, especially in Illinois.

The extent of the CCP's control over Gotion, as outlined in the company's by-laws, triggered further scrutiny.

“In 2021, Guoxuan High-Tech hosted several company retreats where employees were mandated to recite a pledge of loyalty to the Party, including to ‘fight for communism,’” a letter from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and U.S. Representative John Moolenaar reads.  “This is concerning, no less because the Biden Administration itself has described the PRC in its 2022 National Security Strategy as the “only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it,” and that ‘Beijing frequently uses its economic power to coerce countries.’”“The CCP’s control over Guoxuan High-Tech is no exception to the Party’s strategy to exert its influence in the United States.”

The controversy surrounding Gotion escalated when the Chinese company sought $8 billion in taxpayer subsidies for a $2 billion battery manufacturing facility in Manteno.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has offered the CCP-linked company over $500 million in tax subsidies to build in Illinois.

This move raised apprehensions among local residents and lawmakers, sparking opposition in multiple states, including North Dakota and Michigan.

Residents, alongside a U.S. House committee, expressed reservations about significant financial support for a company with ties to the CCP.