The people of Green Charter Township put up a good fight but to no avail. A US-based company planned to build a battery factory in rural Michigan, but locals attempted to prevent the build once it was discovered that the company was owned entirely by a Chinese entity with ties to the CCP. The locals weren’t keen on the idea of having a business in their own backyard with such strong ties to China. Some bigwigs in the state disagreed – like Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, who called the deal “the biggest ever economic development project in Northern Michigan.” Ultimately, the signed paperwork mattered more than the desires of the residents when the litigation began, and the battery plant project is back on.
The US-based Gotion Inc. is wholly owned by Chinese company Hefei Gotion High-Tech Power Energy Co. Ltd. What busy-body folks found were corporate documents stating the company must "set up a Communist Party of China organization" and ensure Communist Party guidelines are implemented within all corporate operations. In this case alone, hundreds of employees, including the CEO, are card-carrying members of the CCP.
However, according to statements by Vice President of North American Manufacturing Chuck Thelen, they don't and won't have Chinese spies roaming around the Michigan countryside on their days off. "It's unfortunate that Gotion has had to resort to litigation to get the township to comply with their obligations under the agreement," Thelen remarked.
But Gotion prevailed – with the support of the Biden administration and Gov. Whitmer, of course – and there will now be many CCP folks close to Camp Grayling, the largest US National Guard training facility.
The Mecosta County GOP repeatedly warned of the overall threat to the US from China: "China's deployment of spy balloons, theft of intellectual properties, currency manipulation, close proximity to the cyber security program at Ferris State University, and their muscle flexing toward Taiwan, are further examples of why construction of the plant should be halted. Lithium battery concerns are well documented, as are the issue of housing/infrastructure in Mecosta County's largest city."
China Laughs
"China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019. And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota," warned US Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), who has been tolling the bell on China's attempts at world domination.
China also owns $870 billion in US Treasuries used to finance our ever-skyrocketing debt. Guess what else they control? A chunk of the Chicago Stock Exchange, General Electric's appliance division, General Motors, AMC movie theaters, and Smithfield Foods. It is no secret that Xi Jinping has a clear goal to take over the entire global market and hold all the economic cards by 2049. His country is already the leader in EV production, a drive away from gas cars that the Biden administration and the majority of Democrats in Congress support.
Those in the Swamp who support the Chinese purchases argue that China isn’t the only – or even the largest – foreign landowner in America. True, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, and Germany all own significant amounts of US land. But is anyone concerned about the Netherlands invading Indiana any time soon? Of course not; China is a different situation entirely. Land purchases "are not being adequately controlled by the federal government, so states are acting on their own," said Indiana Republican state Rep. Kendell Culp.
"From Chinese Communist Party-affiliated purchases of agricultural land to efforts by the party to influence state and local politics, states are on the front lines of our New Cold War with the Chinese Communist Party," said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), chair of the House Select Committee on China. Well, someone has to take the reins, and so far, about 20 states have introduced or passed legislation barring China from purchasing more land in the US.
China isn’t purchasing meat packing companies, acquiring real estate, or buying debt on the sly – the US Treasury Department Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which oversees foreign investments, has seemingly sent engraved invitations.
