The plan, which has already been examined by lower-level officials in China, is getting the extra layer of national-level scrutiny because of the significance of the deal and its implications for U.S.-China relations, the people said.
Representatives from China’s Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Representatives for Ningde, Fujian-based CATL also didn’t reply to a request for comment.
“We are not aware of any outreach by Chinese government officials on this matter,” Ford said in an emailed statement.
Control of key technologies has become a significant front in the standoff between the world’s two biggest economies, with the U.S. moving aggressively to restrict China’s access to chipmaking and other strategic capabilities. President Joe Biden put China’s domination of EV batteries in his sights with his signature climate bill — the Inflation Reduction Act — which means electric vehicles made with a certain amount of China-linked materials miss out on lucrative consumer tax credits.
The IRA has met with significant pushback from the world’s top battery makers, of which CATL is No. 1. China controls vast swathes of the supply chain for battery materials and CATL is a leader in LFP battery technology and production.
Officials in China will also check that individuals sanctioned by the country as part of its tit-for-tat with the U.S. aren’t involved in the Ford-CATL project, seen as a boost for Michigan’s once-dominant automotive industry. China has sanctioned a range of individuals amid frictions with the U.S., including former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a raft of Trump administration staff and top executives at Boeing Co. and defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corp.
A subsidiary of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp. were sanctioned on Thursday for selling arms to Taiwan.
The Ford plant will be the first in the U.S. to produce LFP batteries, which are less expensive and should make its EVs more affordable, Lisa Drake, Ford’s vice president of EV industrialization, told reporters after the factory announcement earlier this week. CATL will help set up the Michigan plant and have staff there, Drake said.
