Moolenaar Rejects Michigan Mayor’s Request to Support Taxpayer Funding for Ford’s CATL Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Chairman John Moolenaar of the House Select Committee on China has sent a letter to Battle Creek, Michigan Mayor Mark Behnke warning him about the dangers of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), which is a Chinese military company that is partnering with Ford on a facility in Michigan. Moolenaar’s letter is in response to a letter Behnke sent the Michigan congressional delegation calling for taxpayer funding to support the Ford/CATL agreement. CATL was added to the Department of Defense’s list of known Chinese military companies in January, and the company helps the Chinese military develop battery technology that can be used in weapons systems, ships, aircraft, and vehicles. 

In his letter to the mayor, Moolenaar warns: 

…If Battle Creek, Marshall, Calhoun County, and the Ford Motor Company proceed with partnering with CATL, they risk supporting a company linked to the erosion of American manufacturing, and the endangerment of the brave men and women who serve our country in the military, as well as a company linked to the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang, China… 

…As the mayor of a community that is home to Fort Custer and the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, I know you value our nation’s servicemembers and their sacrifices for our country. As you advocate for partnering with a Chinese military company, you should know that the servicemembers who train at Fort Custer could one day face CCP adversaries supported by CATL technology. Additionally, veterans at the VA Medical Center could one day be there to seek treatment for injuries caused by CATL technology… 

…. In your letter, you wrote that our nation’s auto industry faces significant challenges from CCP companies backed by the Chinese government. CATL is exactly that kind of company. It receives subsidies from the Chinese government, works for China’s military, and seeks to dominate the global market for automotive batteries through unfair trade practices. By partnering with this company, you will help it advance its goals. This will make American auto manufacturing more dependent on China, not less. 

Background 

In an April 17 letter Behnke wrote members of the Michigan Congressional delegation and asked them to support taxpayer funding for the Ford/CATL project in Calhoun County, the home of Battle Creek. 

In his letter, Behnke praised the Chinese military company for having “pioneering” battery technology and said working with CATL would provide a “critical pipeline for other battery-intensive and emerging technologies.”

 In August of 2024, Chairman Moolenaar and then-Senator Marco Rubio asked the Biden administration to add CATL to the Defense Department’s 1260H list of Chinese military companies. The Biden administration did that in January. 

Earlier in 2024, Moolenaar and other members of Congress revealed evidence that CATL had ties to the CCP’s genocide of Uyghurs, including sourcing a key component from a company controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which is Chinese paramilitary organization sanctioned by the United States. CATL also sources electrolytic nickel from a subsidiary of Xinjiang Nonferrous, a CCP state-owned enterprise known for its prolific use of forced labor. 

Finally, in January 2024, U.S. lawmakers banned the Department of Defense from buying batteries from CATL.

Read the full letter HERE.



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