CCP ally purchases 270 acres near US military facilities
An electric vehicle battery maker loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Tuesday announced its purchase of 270 acres near Grand Rapids in Big Rapids Township, Michigan. The location lies about 60 miles from US military armories and within 100 miles of a US military facility.
Gotion is owned by Chinese tech firm Gotion High-Tech, based in Hefei, China. The company pledges loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) several times throughout its Articles of Association.
Article 9 states, “The Company shall 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.”
The company also set up the Gotion High-tech Co., Ltd. Committee of the Communist Party of China which, according to Article 115 “shall perform its duties in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.”
Nevertheless, the company’s purchase of 270 acres to build a new battery plant has received the blessing of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Biden administration. According to the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the transaction does not pose a national security threat.
Despite fierce pushback from Michigan residents and lawmakers, Whitmer has earmarked $175 million in taxpayer funds to subsidize the plant, which is expected to create over 2,000 jobs and earn the company hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state grants.
One Michigandian told state lawmakers in April that the plant is part of the CCP’s ambition to “overthrow the United States without firing a shot” while another said it was a threat to the American way of life.
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), who represents the district where Gotion will build the new facility, opposes the transaction.
“For our state to welcome CCP investment in Michigan 100 miles from the same facility where the Michigan National Guard has worked with military officials from Taiwan is a dangerous double standard that puts national security at risk,” Moolenaar said. “This land purchase in Green Township is a step backwards for Michigan and our communities.”
These 270 acres add to the 384,000 acres of US land — about twice the size of New York City — already owned by the Chinese, according to a US Department of Agriculture 2021 report. This includes a recent 370-acre purchase in North Dakota by the Chinese company Fufeng Group, whose Executive Chairman Xuechun Li is considered an active CCP member and supporter. The location is just a 20-minute drive from a US Air Force base housing sensitive drone technology.
