Sparks flying at CATL over Chinese military claims 

Sparks are starting to fly at the once-obscure Chinese battery behemoth Contemporary Amperex Technology or CATL. Uncle Sam has decided to wrap the group in red, white and blue tape for alleged links to China’s military.

With nearly 40% of the global market, CATL is the world’s leading battery maker for electric vehicles after turning the fishing village of Ningde in southeast China into a high-tech hub.

It has also attracted the attention of United States lawmakers. On Tuesday, CATL was placed on the Department of Defense’s blacklist of Chinese military companies, which is updated annually and now includes 134 enterprizes.

In short, this is a national security issue and revolves around its close links to the ruling Chinese Communist Party or CCP.

“Although People’s Republic of China government officials dismiss accusations of Party control over the private sector, the policy shift has long been recognized,” Jeffrey Becker, a principal research scientist with CNA’s China Studies Program, said.

“CATL serves as an excellent example of this evolution [and] the CCP has worked diligently to establish a strong presence. By 2021, CATL’s flagship headquarters had 28 distinct CCP branches,” he wrote in a blog last year for the non-profit think tank. 

CATL’s Party Committee sought to expand cooperation with [the] CCP.

Jeffrey Becker at CNA’s China Studies Program

Running out of juice:

• CATL was not the only advanced technology business to be added to the US Department of Defense’s list after claiming the decision was a “mistake.”
• Social media and e-commerce giant Tencent, artificial intelligence software groups SenseTime and CloudWalk, as well as Quectel Wireless Solutions, were singled out.

Delve deeper: “In 2022, CATL emphasized the importance of the construction of Party organizations,” Becker wrote for CNA, formerly known as the Center for Naval Analyses, and based in Washington.

Between the lines: “CATL’s Party Committee has actively sought to expand cooperation with external CCP organizations as well, including those in defense research institutes working with the PLA [People’s Liberation Army],” he said in a September blog.

Big picture: The tech titan and other groups on the list have denied links to the Chinese military. Academic Zhou Mi, of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, branded Washington’s move as a“national security” ruse.

Bottom line: “Under the pretext of safeguarding national security, [the] US government [is] targeting Chinese companies they deem problematic,” Gao Lingyun, of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told Global Times on Tuesday. 

China Factor comment: For CATL and its billionaire founder Robin Zheng, the plug appears to have been pulled on his plans to expand further into the US.