The heaquarter campus of Gotion High-Tech in Hefei, Anhui province. Credit: Gotion High-Tech
When it comes to making electric vehicles and their inputs, Chinese companies have been ahead of the curve. Now, the U.S. is spending big to catch up: through the federal and state governments, it’s offering tens of billions of dollars in incentives to bring EV production back to America.
Ironically, one of the earliest takers is a Chinese company. This month, Gotion High Tech announced it would construct a major battery input factory in Michigan, having secured $715 million in state financial incentives.
Gotion is a relatively minor player in China’s EV battery industry, but the Volkswagen-backed company has ambitious growth plans. By 2025, it plans to have one-third of its battery production capacity located outside of China. If Washington’s intention is to keep China out of its EV supply chain, Gotion doesn’t appear to have gotten the memo.
This week, The Wire looks at Gotion High-Tech, its rapid growth, and its overseas expansion strategy, including to the
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
When Ken Wilcox, a former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, moved to Shanghai in 2011, he was optimistic and eager to start up the bank's new joint venture in China. A decade later, however, he is extremely cynical about U.S. business interests in China. While analysts will, rightly, be debating SVB's missteps in the U.S. for the foreseeable future, Wilcox insists the bank's challenges in China should not be overlooked.
The former secretary of state talks about how the Trump administration changed U.S.-China relations; why he accused Beijing of genocide in Xinjiang; and why U.S. politicians should visit Taiwan.
