Last August, Chuck Thelen, vice president of Gotion, Inc., once again batted down claims the company has strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Thelen told Politico at the time “the Chinese Communist Party has no presence in the North American company,” doubling down on comments in April 2023 that Gotion’s planned $2.4 billion battery component plant in Mecosta County is “no communist plot.”

“Has the communist Party penetrated this company? No,” he said, suggesting locals have been “force fed a big fear sandwich” regarding Gotion’s Communist ties.

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On July 20, Gotion quietly amended its Foreign Agents Registration Act statement with the U.S. Department of Justice to “correct a deficiency” for the six month period ending Oct. 31, 2023.

Attorneys at Warner Norcross + Judd who represent the company answered “no” when questioned whether Gotion, Inc. “was subsidized in part by a foreign government, foreign political party, or other foreign principal.”

“WNJ amends its registration and states that Gotion is partially subsidized through government funding applied by the People’s Republic of China,” the document read, pointing to parent company Gotion High-tech Co.’s 2023 annual report.

The report describes Gotion, Inc. as “a wholly-owned subsidiary” of Gotion High-Tech Co. and outlines the company’s projects in Michigan and Illinois.

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A second amendment to Gotion’s FARA filing acknowledges “Gotion is partially subsidized by the majority ownership of Volkswagen AG – a German foreign principal,” the filing read.

“Volkswagen AG continues to be the largest shareholder of Gotion, Inc. as shown in Gotion’s most recent Annual Report.”

Gotion’s plans in Mecosta County come with $715 million in taxpayer money and incentives approved by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democrats in the legislature, despite strong objections from Republicans including Congressman John Moolenaar, environmentalists, and local residents.

Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, has repeatedly highlighted Gotion’s ties to the CCP and Volkswagen, slave labor in the supply chain, and concerns about the planned facility’s proximity to Michigan’s Air National Guard base, and a cybersecurity center in Big Rapids.

There’s also concerns about plans to pull 715,000 gallons of water per day, potential impacts to the Muskegon River watershed, though Thelen has said he “would assume” the water draw “would be safe for the environment.”

“Gotion officials in Michigan continue to mislead residents about the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Gotion Inc. officials are actively involved in the CCP and its business partner was recently caught using slave labor in the CCP’s genocide of religious people,” Moolenaar said in April. “Gotion’s parent company has even worked with officials from Iran, an avowed enemy of the United States.

“Gotion is the wrong business partner for Michigan,” he said.

Moolenaar and others including ambassadors Joseph Cella and Pete Hoekstra have urged federal officials to more closely scrutinize Gotion’s links with the CCP and blacklist the company, noting the Department of Defense is prohibited from buying batteries from Gotion over security concerns.

“Our own military is telling us Gotion is a bad business partner,” Moolenaar said at a roundtable in Green Charter Township last week that Thelen opted not to attend, “and yet state and some local officials refuse to listen.”

That was obvious in May, when Michigan Democrats reaffirmed support for giving tax dollars to Gotion and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, another company with links to the CCP that’s partnering with Ford to build an EV battery plant in Marshall.

Democrats voted down a budget amendment backed by Coopersville Republican Rep. Luke Meerman and Coldwater Republican Sen. Jonathan Lindsey that would have required review from the Committee on Foreign Investment before finalizing deals with companies tied to the nation’s adversaries.

“After having over a week to review and discuss this simple amendment, every single Senate Democrat went on the record in opposition,” Lindsey said. “Make no mistake, they all voted against doing our part to secure our nation against foreign adversaries.”

With Gotion’s plans in Big Rapids tied up in litigation with Green Charter Township officials who are now working to block the deal, Lindsey, Cella, Hoekstra, Rep. Andrew Fink, R-Adams Township, and many others are now pushing state legislation designed to protect taxpayers from all foreign entities on the federal watch list.

“The CCP’s authoritarian governance, human rights abuses, unfair economic practices, national security threats, disinformation campaigns, and lack of reciprocity all warrant caution,” Fink said. “Every legislator in this group of bill sponsors offers a unique professional experience related to the issues at hand: veterans, a farmer, a health care worker, a teacher, and more.

The proposed legislation would outlaw certain apps on government devices, state and local governments from using dangerous technology like drones, university grants “conditioned upon an anti-American agenda,” economic incentives for foreign entities of concern, health information maintained outside of the U.S. or Canada, and entities of concern from surveilling military bases or critical infrastructure.

The bill sponsors noted similar bills have gained approval in statehouses and Congress, ensuring countries including Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria do not gain leverage in the U.S.

“This is an issue that, in Washington, is bringing people together, it’s something that everyone is and should be concerned about,” Hoekstra said. “It’s spurring coalitions for change at the local level in Michigan’s townships as well. Our state Legislature should follow suit.”

“We are here on behalf of our Michigan residents because our nation is not subverting foreign influence,” Meerman said. “Concerns about the CCP and other dangerous foreign entities should be a matter of shared concern for conservatives and liberals alike. These policies would protect the interests and values of all of Michigan.”