Two Republican lawmakers are planning to host a roundtable discussion next Thursday in an Illinois town where a Chinese battery maker plans to build a massive, subsidized factory, according to information obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Republican Reps. John Moolenaar of Michigan and Darin LaHood of Illinois are hosting the event in Manteno, Illinois. The event will feature battery maker Gotion (a fullyOwned and controlledThe China-based parent company, Guoxuan High-Tech, announced plans to build the $2 billion facility. The event was attended by local stakeholders and national security experts and was intended to provide “transparency” to local residents concerned about Guoxuan's plans to set up shop in their area.
Participants at the event will include activists and experts from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Concerned Citizens of Manteno, as well as Republican Illinois Representative Dan Caulkins. backing Under Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's plan, the state is offering incentives worth $536 million for the project. (Related story: After months of attacks from Republicans, Democratic Senate candidate finally calls out China-linked battery makers)
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Background: Goshon, a subsidiary of China's Goshon Hi-Tech, which has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military, is headquartered in California and is building EV battery factories in Michigan and Illinois.
(Photo: Xi Jinping with Li Zhen, chairman of Guotai Hi-Tech) pic.twitter.com/rcCzAVmEF9
— Philip Lenczycki Cai Yue (@LenczyckiPhilip) April 5, 2024
“It is important for the local community to be transparent. All they are currently receiving is a flood of propaganda from Gochon,” Moulenaar, who also chairs the Duma's special committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “Given that foreign nationals affiliated to the Chinese Communist Party will be permanently present in Gochon, this raises serious concerns.”
“Gotion is committed to providing the highest quality, reliable, and reliable products to our customers,” said Chuck Thelen, Gotion's vice president of North American manufacturing. POLITICO In August 2023, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was amended to provide that CCPs do not have a presence in the U.S. as subsidiaries. Documents to be submitted This shows that the National Exhibition received subsidies from the Chinese government.
According to information obtained by DCNF, Sellen has been invited to attend the meeting in Manteno, but it is unclear whether he or other Goshon employees will attend. The company was invited to a similar event in July in Michigan (where Goshon is also attempting to build a subsidized facility) but did not send a representative.
DCNF has extensively reported on Guoxuan's ties to China and the Chinese Communist Party through Guoxuan High-Tech Technology, which as of 2022 employs more than 900 Chinese Communist Party members.
According to the DCNF investigation, a group of CCP officials set up a recruiting “workstation” at Gochon’s California headquarters in 2017, and executives were filmed attending at least two meetings of Gochon Hi-Tech’s internal CCP committee in 2022. Additionally, video footage obtained by the DCNF shows Gochon Hi-Tech employees dressed as Red Army soldiers and pledging allegiance to the CCP during a company trip.
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress in January that the Chinese Communist Party could use Gochon's proposed Michigan facility “to gain whatever benefits they want, which are, frankly, contrary to American interests.”
Additionally, five Republican lawmakers have called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to effectively ban Goshon High-Tech from shipping goods to the United States, alleging that the company may be violating the Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act through its ties to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary organization on the U.S. blacklist, as reported by the DCNF in October 2023.
“Given Guozhan's direct ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises, we cannot afford to make mistakes when it comes to our national security,” LaHood said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “We have a duty and responsibility to protect our people, defend our country, and ensure that foreign adversaries do not infiltrate our country.”
Guoxuan and Guoxuan High-Tech did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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