Gotion: A Case Study in CCP Influence
Gotion Inc., based in California, is wholly owned by Gotion High-Tech Co., Ltd., a Chinese firm headquartered in Hefei. It’s been thrust into the spotlight due to its plans for a $2.4 billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Big Rapids, Michigan, and another in Illinois, both slated to leverage Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits. What’s sparked outrage isn’t just the economic investment—it’s the ties to the CCP. Gotion High-Tech’s 2022 Articles of Association mandate a Party organization within the company, requiring it to “carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the Communist Party of China.” Its 2022 ESG report admitted to employing 923 CCP members, including CEO Li Zhen, whose family has deep Party ties. A July 20, 2024, Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) amendment further disclosed partial subsidies from the PRC government, reversing earlier denials of CCP control.
This isn’t abstract. The plant’s proximity—70 miles from Camp Grayling, a major U.S. military training site hosting Taiwanese troops—raises espionage fears. Critics, including Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House Select Committee on China, argue it’s a Trojan horse: CCP-controlled tech and workers embedded near sensitive infrastructure, funded by U.S. taxpayers. Add allegations of Gotion’s supply chain links to Xinjiang forced labor (via a June 2024 House committee letter to DHS), and the stakes climb higher.
Lessons for Resisting the CCP
Gotion’s saga offers practical takeaways for countering CCP influence:
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Expose Opaque Ownership: The CCP thrives on obscurity—complex corporate structures hide its hand. Gotion’s initial denials of CCP ties crumbled under scrutiny from groups like the Daily Caller and local activists. Lesson: Dig into bylaws, filings, and partnerships. Public pressure forced Gotion’s FARA revision, proving transparency can disrupt their playbook.
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Mobilize Local Resistance: Green Charter Township, Michigan, saw a grassroots uprising—voters recalled five officials in November 2023 who backed Gotion’s tax breaks. This wasn’t top-down; it was residents, armed with info from forums and figures like Tudor Dixon, saying no to CCP encroachment. Lesson: Local action can stall projects national leaders greenlight, hitting the CCP where it invests.
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Target Economic Leverage: The CCP uses economic carrots—jobs, investment—to buy silence. Gotion promised 2,300 jobs in Michigan, swaying some. But opponents flipped the script, highlighting how IRA credits (potentially $7.5 billion across EV projects) subsidize a CCP entity. Lesson: Starve the beast. Bills like the NO GOTION Act (H.R. 6888), barring tax credits to CCP-linked firms, show how to choke their financial oxygen.
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Exploit Geopolitical Fault Lines: The CCP hates daylight on its human rights record. Linking Gotion to Uyghur slave labor—via its partner CATL and Xinjiang supply chains—shifts the fight from economics to morality, rallying broader support. Lesson: Hit them where they’re weak. Global condemnation amplifies domestic pushback.
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Stay Vigilant on Security: Proximity to Camp Grayling isn’t coincidence to critics—it’s strategy. The FBI opens a China-related counterintelligence case every 10 hours; Gotion’s plant could be a node in that network. Lesson: Assume intent. Physical and cyber proximity to critical assets demands preemptive defense, not reaction.
Holding Government Accountable
Gotion exposes government failures—and how to fix them:
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Demand Due Diligence: Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) handed Gotion $872 million in incentives without vetting CCP ties, per critics like Senator Lana Theis. The Biden admin’s green energy push fast-tracked it, ignoring CFIUS red flags. Fix: Mandate rigorous national security reviews for foreign investments, especially in critical tech like batteries. Rubio and Moolenaar’s 2023 CFIUS letter on Gotion shows this works when pressed.
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Punish Complicity: Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Curtis Hertel backed Gotion, signing NDAs (per X posts and local reports) while downplaying CCP links. When Gotion’s filings flipped, their silence screamed. Fix: Call it out—publicly. Grassroots campaigns and figures like Dixon held their feet to the fire, proving electoral pressure disciplines officials.
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Close Loopholes: The IRA’s loose eligibility let Gotion tap U.S. funds despite CCP control—Volkswagen’s 30% stake was a fig leaf. Fix: Tighten laws. The NO GOTION Act, introduced by Moolenaar and Darin LaHood, models this, banning credits to firms from “countries of concern.” Push Congress to act, not posture.
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Force Transparency: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s team approved Gotion’s subsidies, per the House Oversight Committee, without public justification. Fix: Drag it into the open. Oversight hearings—like the September 2024 session on CCP warfare—show agencies squirm when grilled. Keep the heat on.
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Align Policy with Reality: The Biden-Harris admin pivoted from Trump’s hardline CCP stance, per Oversight testimony, letting green dogma trump security. Fix: Reset priorities. Local wins—like Big Rapids’ resistance—signal voters won’t tolerate naivety. Government must follow or face revolt.
The Bigger Picture
Gotion’s not unique—it’s a symptom. TikTok, Huawei, and countless firms follow the same CCP script: infiltrate, exploit, obscure. The Family’s global networking offers a dark mirror—both wield influence through relationships, not headlines. But where The Family peddles faith, the CCP sells control. Resisting it means learning from Gotion: relentless exposure, local defiance, economic counterstrikes, and security-first thinking. Holding government accountable? It’s the same game—shine light on the cozy deals, punish the enablers, and rewrite the rules. Michigan’s fight isn’t just about one plant—it’s a blueprint for the war we’re already in.
This isn’t theory—it’s happening now, April 4, 2025. The CCP’s not waiting; neither should we.
What’s in the NO GOTION Act?
The “No Official Giveaways Of Taxpayers’ Income to Oppressive Nations Act” (NO GOTION Act) is a bipartisan bill reintroduced in January 2025 by Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Jared Golden (D-ME), and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). It targets companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other adversarial nations, specifically aiming to block them from exploiting U.S. green energy tax credits. Here’s the meat of it, based on its legislative text and public statements:
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Purpose: It amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny specific tax benefits to “disqualified companies” linked to “countries of concern”—China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The focus is on preventing U.S. taxpayer money from subsidizing entities like Gotion Inc., a CCP-affiliated firm planning battery plants in Michigan and Illinois.
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Key Provisions:
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Tax Credit Ban: Disqualified companies can’t claim credits under sections like 30C (alternative fuel refueling property), 45 (renewable electricity production), 45X (advanced manufacturing), 48 (energy property), and others tied to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These span EV batteries, solar, wind, and more—about 18 sections total.
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Definition of Disqualified Companies: Firms are ineligible if they’re incorporated in, headquartered in, or controlled by entities from these four nations. This includes subsidiaries (like Gotion Inc., wholly owned by China’s Gotion High-Tech) and firms receiving significant subsidies from these governments.
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Scope: It’s narrow but precise—three pages long—focusing solely on green energy incentives, not broader trade or investment.
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Context and Motivation: Gotion’s Michigan plant, backed by $872 million in state incentives and potentially billions in IRA credits, triggered this. Its CCP ties—923 Party members employed, state subsidies, and forced labor links in Xinjiang—raised alarms. The Act’s cosponsors (over 20 in the House) argue it’s about national security and economic fairness, not just anti-China rhetoric.
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Status: As of now, it’s introduced, not enacted. It’s got traction—bipartisan support and Trump-era echoes—but faces a Congress juggling bigger fish. Passage odds? Hard to pin down without vote data, but it’s a live issue.
How Does a Sovereign State Declare Similar Legislation?
Now, how might a sovereign state—like a U.S. state or another nation—craft and declare something akin to the NO GOTION Act? This depends on their legal authority and political structure. Let’s split it into two scenarios: a U.S. state and an independent nation.
U.S. State (Sub-National Sovereignty)
U.S. states have sovereignty under the 10th Amendment—powers not delegated to the feds are theirs—but it’s limited by federal supremacy and interstate commerce rules. Here’s how one might pull this off:
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Legislative Authority: States can regulate economic activity within their borders, like tax incentives or procurement. Michigan, for instance, could pass a law barring state funds to CCP-linked firms, mirroring NO GOTION’s intent. They’d draft a bill, say, “Michigan Economic Security Act,” targeting subsidies to firms from China, Russia, etc.
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Process: Introduced in the state legislature (e.g., Michigan House), it’d go through committees (economic development, national security), public hearings, and votes. Governor’s signature seals it.
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Limits: Can’t touch federal tax credits (that’s Congress’s turf) or violate the Commerce Clause by unduly burdening interstate trade. Michigan’s Gotion fight shows locals can kill projects via zoning or recalls, but state law would need tighter focus—e.g., banning state contracts with disqualified firms.
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Example: Alabama’s 2023 law (SB 261) restricts state contracts with firms from “countries of concern.” It’s narrower than NO GOTION (no tax credit angle), but the playbook’s similar: define the threat, target state-controlled levers, pass it through the legislature.
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Declaration: Once passed, it’s law when the governor signs. No grand “declaration” beyond that—just enforcement. Michigan could’ve done this pre-Gotion but didn’t; local resistance filled the gap.
Independent Sovereign Nation
A fully sovereign state—like Canada, Japan, or even China itself—has broader latitude, unbound by a federal overlay. Here’s the process:
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Legislative Power: They’d use their parliament or equivalent. Take Canada: Parliament could pass a “Foreign Influence in Green Energy Act” to block tax breaks for firms tied to adversarial states (say, Russia or Iran).
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Drafting: Define “disqualified entities” (e.g., firms with >25% ownership from a listed state), list targeted incentives (e.g., clean energy grants), and set penalties (fines, contract bans).
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Process: Introduced as a bill, debated in the House of Commons, sent to the Senate, then royal assent via the Governor General. Timeline varies—months if unopposed, years if contentious.
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International Angle: Sovereigns can align with treaties or go solo. The EU could adopt a bloc-wide version, amending its energy directives to exclude CCP-linked firms, pushed through the European Parliament and Council.
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Declaration: Once enacted, it’s announced via official gazette or press—like Canada’s Canada Gazette. Enforcement kicks in per the law’s terms (e.g., 90 days post-passage). No U.S.-style filibuster to dodge; just political will and votes.
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Example: Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) tightened rules in 2021, rejecting CCP-linked bids on security grounds. A NO GOTION-style law could build on that, targeting tax incentives instead, passed via Canberra’s Parliament.
Common Threads
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Identify the Threat: Both need a clear enemy—CCP, Russia, etc.—backed by evidence (e.g., Gotion’s filings).
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Leverage Control: States hit local funds; nations hit national policy. Scope matches sovereignty.
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Legal Path: Legislature drafts, debates, enacts. Public pressure (like Michigan’s recalls) can accelerate it.
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Limits: States bow to federal law; nations face trade retaliation (e.g., China could tariff U.S. goods over NO GOTION).
Wrapping It Up
The NO GOTION Act is a surgical strike—short, focused, and about cutting CCP firms off from U.S. green energy cash. A U.S. state could mimic it within its sandbox (state funds, contracts), while a sovereign nation could go bigger, hitting national taxes or trade. Either way, it’s about spotting the risk, rallying the votes, and signing the dotted line. Gotion’s mess in Michigan proves this isn’t hypothetical—people are watching, and the playbook’s being written now.