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For a few years, U.S. companies have decried efforts by different international locations to steal their mental property – with China being the first goal for a lot of of those accusations.
WATCH: VA Governor Turns Down $3.5B Ford Plant, Cites Chinese language Connection
One 2017 report estimated that the fee to the U.S. of Chinese language counterfeits, stolen commerce secrets and techniques and pirated software program was upwards of $600 billion per yr.
It’s all these issues which have resulted in crimson flags over proposed enterprise dealings between the 2 international locations, although curiously a newly introduced enterprise in automotive appears to have flipped the script: Bloomberg is reporting that Chinese language officers have some issues a few new multi-billion-dollar deal involving Ford Motor Firm and Chinese language battery firm CATL.
Ford introduced a number of weeks again that it will make investments greater than $3 billion to construct a manufacturing unit in Michigan to construct batteries by way of a licensing cope with tech associate, Chinese language-based CATL. CATL has established itself as a pacesetter in electrical car batteries and can deliver a brand new sort of battery to Ford’s line-up – the lithium-iron-phosphate, or LFP, design which is claimed to supply a number of advantages over the present batteries Ford makes use of.
And since CATL is the one bringing this extremely helpful expertise to the deal, Bloomberg is reporting that senior Chinese language officers are asking for additional scrutiny to be utilized to the deal – particularly to make sure that CATL’s helpful tech gained’t be handed over to Ford.
In keeping with Bloomberg, “whereas Beijing is happy the deal showcases China’s prowess within the EV battery house, officers are involved that aggressive elements of CATL’s expertise may very well be given to or accessed by the American automaker.” The article goes on so as to add that the deal’s additional layer of examination is probably going a results of at present strained US-China relations, although the sources don’t imagine the deal will likely be blocked.
Talking of torpedoed offers, this Ford plant is the exact same undertaking that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin famously spoke out in opposition to when he stated he would withdraw his state from consideration for the undertaking – characterizing the deal as a “entrance” for the Chinese language Communist social gathering.
This would be the first U.S. plant to supply LFP batteries, and Bloomberg says “the association is being seen as a doable template for the way automakers within the U.S. can nonetheless safe tax benefits whereas benefiting from China’s battery prowess.”
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