Michigan Becomes Haven For Firms Linked To Chinese Communist Party

As many Republican-led states move to restrict companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party from setting up shop in their states, Michigan Democrats are moving in the opposite direction and welcoming CCP-linked firms.

To bring in the investment, the Michigan State Senate Appropriations Committee voted to allocate $175 million for the project, with at least $650 million more expected in the coming years.

Notably, a number of Democrats on the committee broke with their own party and joined Republicans in voting against the project, citing concerns about Gotion's links to the CCP. Critics have pointed specifically to a section in the charter of Gotion's parent company which stipulates Gotion and all its subsidiaries must "Set up a Party organization and carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China the Company shall ensure necessary conditions for carrying out Party activities."

Notably, the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States - which is led by the Secretary of the Treasury, composed of top Biden administration officials, and charged with determining the national security implications of foreign investments in U.S. companies or operations - held that the deal was "Not in its jurisdiction." The decision raised some eyebrows among observers, particularly after another case earlier this year where CFIUS ruled that a Chinese entity buying up farmland just 15 miles outside an Air Force base in North Dakota was also outside its jurisdiction.

The Gotion plant is just the most recent Beijing-linked company to set up shop in Michigan.

In 2023 alone, at least eight Republican-led states have passed some variation of a ban on Chinese companies purchasing farmland, while other states are looking at legislative action to track all Chinese business activity more closely.

Without a united effort against the CCP's attempts to use its control over Chinese businesses to potentially undermine U.S. national security and economic interests, red state efforts may prove inadequate.

https://amac.us/newsline/society/michigan-becomes-haven-for-firms-linked-to-chinese-communist-party/