SSurrounded by rolling green hills and tall pines, Lori Block's storybook farm embraces northern Michigan. A five-day-old mare runs around the pen, a small black pig roams in the barn, and a donkey grazes in a field surrounded by white fences.
It's an idyllic way of life in Green Township, but Block and many neighbors believe it could be threatened by an unexpected enemy: the Chinese Communist Party.
Just south of her property, a company called Goshon is building a massive $2.4 billion, 2 million square foot (186,000 square meter) factory to produce lithium batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). There is. Although the company is based in the United States, its parent company is in China.
Bullock and her neighbors said they were fighting to preserve Greene Township's rural character and avoid a “national security risk” from Chinese companies. They claim the project is on the verge of derailment.
Anti-China sentiment across the United States threatens to impede the transition to EVs. The transition plan is partially funded by President Joe Biden's Anti-Inflation Act, but many of its projects are also aimed at restoring struggling local economies and are taking place in Republican districts. It is powered by Chinese funds, which some residents oppose.
In this context, the green township of 3,200 people forms only part of a broader economic conflict between the United States and China. The United States is in the difficult position of having to embrace Chinese technology, as some analysts believe China is winning the clean energy storage race. Biden on Tuesday announced a 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs as part of a series of measures to protect U.S. manufacturers from cheaper imports.
The stakes are especially high in Michigan, which is trying to maintain its status as the automotive capital of the world in the EV era. The state's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders, including many Republicans, have assembled billions of dollars in tax incentives to help businesses invest in the state. Gotion itself will receive about $715 million in incentives from the state.
“They picked on the wrong redneck.”
Gauthion's plans surfaced in late 2022 and ignited a bitter fight that has continued ever since, with death threats, sabotage claims, vandalized mailboxes, and the defeat of local officials who supported the project.
Town Supervisor Jim Chapman supports Goshon's plan. spoke publicly about the threat he received. He said they include references to the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms and a threat to send in a “Michigan militia,” which may be a reference to a self-proclaimed anti-government militia. Ta.
Chapman, a former police officer, said he began attending town meetings armed and wearing a bulletproof vest.
Opponents of the giant factory claim they too have received death threats, but people on both sides are reluctant to provide details.
Gauthion's supporters have dismissed concerns about communist influence as outlandish, and opposition to the plan has been stoked by outside political forces aligned with Donald Trump who don't want to see a “victory” for Governor Whitmer. I believe that it is. Last June, President Trump said at a rally in the state that promoting EVs is “destroying Michigan, and it's definitely a vote for China.” Mecosta County, where Greene Township is located, has the fifth-highest poverty rate in the state, and plan supporters see Gothion as an economic boon.
Opponents of the project, who founded the Mecosta Environmental Safety Alliance (MESA), call themselves “no-goers” and question why new generation EV projects are not being built in the region's cities.
“We don't need a chimney here,” Block said. MESA believes that industry and government officials perceive rural areas as financially “vulnerable” and filled with “bastards whose only interest is in raising horses.” “They went with the wrong rednecks,” said Ormand Hook, another resident.
“I've been waiting for an opportunity like Gochon's for a long time.”
Just south of Greene Township is Big Rapids. There, at her fudge and gift shop, Carlene Rose saw empty storefronts and young people leaving because there were no good jobs. Gothion says the 2,300 positions, with an average wage of $24 an hour, could be a much-needed economic antidote.
“We have been waiting for an opportunity like Gotion for a long time,” Rose says. “The number of people employed by this company is incredible,” she added, mocking a joke that the Chinese would send communists to spy on her fudge recipe.
In contrast, MESA ridicules the idea that China is not a threat. The fudge recipe joke is “bubbling with ignorance,” says Bruce Baker, an accountant and MESA spokesperson.
Reflecting on the divisiveness caused by the plan, Rose says, “I feel really sad about what has happened to this community.''
a matter of priorities
Founded in China in 2006, Gotion established a U.S. subsidiary in California in 2014, and its U.S. board is comprised of approximately equal numbers of Germans, Americans, and Chinese nationals. The parent company's articles of incorporation require it to “conduct party activities in accordance with the constitution of the Chinese Communist Party.” Gortion already has operations in California and Ohio, and has told residents that its operations in North America have nothing to do with communism.
Gotion's U.S. subsidiary did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but Chuck Thelen, Gotion's vice president of North American operations, has been engaging with local communities by holding a series of virtual town hall meetings.he I told someone Last April, he said, “No matter what current politicians say, there is no communist conspiracy within Gothion to make Big Rapids a center for the spread of communism.”
What is clear is that the company is rapidly expanding its overseas base. Thanks in part to partnerships with Western brands such as Volkswagen, revenue from outside China reportedly increased 116% to 6.4 billion yuan ($884 million) in 2023.
Michael Dunn, founder of EV consultancy firm Dunn Insights, said Goshon is a “really great'' and “true private company'' that has moved away from the intense competition in China, dominated by battery giants, and is expanding internationally. He said he hopes to grow by expanding. BYD, CATL, etc.
“At the same time, they wouldn't have been able to reach that scale without some level of support from the government… At any point, the risks are: [Chinese Communist] The party has issued a new directive saying we will not operate in the United States. Whatever the ownership of the company is, that's secondary,” Dunn said.
Although he did not comment specifically on Gauthion, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in February: public hearing Regarding China's cybersecurity, he said such projects “could still raise national security concerns because they provide the means.” [China] If they want to use that access, they will conduct surveillance and other operations that undermine national security. ”
Tim Hahn, a Republican who supports the plan citing economic benefits, dismisses such concerns as “an element of local prejudice and xenophobia.”
“You don't need a well-constructed argument to convince people that it's bad to do business near China. You don't just have to go out and say, 'China, China, China, Communist Party of China.' Just scream,” he says.
As the conflict between the locals developed, each side accused the other of criminal activity. Block said he received death threats and claims he found motor oil in his animals' drinking fountains.
“I hope I don’t hold a grudge against anyone.”
Opponents of the plan say claims of outside influence by Trump-aligned political forces are false, and seven members of Greene Township's board of trustees supported the plan last November. It points to the successful recall of five of them as evidence of widespread support. The new board, which currently has a majority opposed to Gothion's plans, quickly voted to symbolically withdraw its support for the project last November, even though the town had already signed a development agreement. .
The new board claims the agreement is invalid and that it was signed behind closed doors, in violation of open meeting laws. Gauthion objected, and has already removed trees from the property, and in early April, Greene Township violated the agreement by unfairly derailing a project in which Gauthion had already invested millions of dollars. filed a federal lawsuit.
Despite the personal nature of the attacks caused by the conflict, Rose is optimistic that the wounds will heal once the Battle of Gothion is resolved.
“I hope that in a few years, when this is all over, we can all come together again and think about what else we can fight about,” she joked. “Really, I hope that no one will hold a grudge after something as difficult and unfortunate as this.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
