Despite outcry, Michigan approves US$175 million for Chinese-owned EV battery plant
- By a 10-9 vote, the state senate appropriations panel passes the incentives for the Gotion Inc plant, which is expected to create more than 2,300 jobs in rural Michigan
- Opponents have charged that Gotion has ties to the Chinese Communist Party that make it a threat to US national security
A proposed Chinese-owned EV battery component plant in Michigan facing public opposition eked out a key legislative win on Thursday when the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee approved US$175 million in incentives by a 10-9 vote.
All six Republican members and three Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee voted against financing Gotion Inc’s 700-acre project in Green Charter Township in rural Michigan. The vote was the final one needed to approve the transfer of state tax dollars, allowing officials to move forward. The Michigan House approved the funding last month.
Registered in California, the company is an American subsidiary of China-based Gotion High tech. For months, it has faced public and political backlash because of speculation over its alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
At the hearing, Chuck Thelen, Gotion Inc’s vice-president for North American operations, announced that the company had received clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency federal panel that reviews transactions involving foreign investments for possible national security threats.
“The committee determined that our proposed transaction was not subject to further review and we may proceed with the proposed transaction,” Thelen said of CFIUS.