Moolenaar: Whitmer’s Empty Words on Chinese Auto Suppliers Require Action

Today, Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave a speech at the Detroit Auto Show. In her address, Whitmer made hypocritical remarks on subsidies for Chinese companies in the auto industry. She pointed out that “Chinese electric cars and batteries are gobbling up market share” and said that these companies could “crush the core” of Michigan’s economy. 

“Governor Whitmer has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Chinese auto suppliers in Michigan. If she is ready to show she is serious about stopping the Chinese Communist Party from taking over our auto industry she will end the state subsidies she approved for Chinese auto suppliers and stop their projects from moving forward. She has subsidized the CCP’s efforts to make our automakers more dependent on China. Her concerns about Chinese auto suppliers hurting our economy are empty until she ends her subsidies for them,” said Congressman John Moolenaar. 

In her address on Wednesday, Governor Whitmer stated, “Chinese electric cars and batteries are gobbling up market share. European automakers are falling behind. More than 12 million European direct and indirect auto industry jobs are at risk. If we do not act, that could be our future. One where we allow companies subsidized by the Chinese government to sell at a loss and crush the core of our economy."  

Whitmer has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in state subsidies for CATL and Gotion, two companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. Concerns have been raised about CATL for many years, and the Biden administration recently added the company to the list of Chinese military companies. Gotion has admitted in federal filings that it is “wholly owned and controlled” by its China-based parent company, Gotion High-Tech, and it is subsidized by the Chinese government. The company also has ties to forced labor in China.

Moolenaar called it a historic mistake when the Michigan Senate approved funding for Gotion in 2023 at the behest of Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation she controls. He has repeatedly called for state officials to end the subsidies it has provided.