A Michigan lawmaker is probing whether a Chinese-owned clean energy firm that Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to support with state tax dollars is seeking a deal with the Taliban government in Afghanistan for rights to mine the nation’s vast deposits of lithium, a key input in lithium-ion batteries, a component central to the manufacture of defining products of the 21st century high-tech economy, including cell phones, laptops and electric and hybrid vehicles.
Gotion Inc. is a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech, “one of the earliest enterprises engaged in the independent research and development, production and sales of new energy vehicle power lithium-ion batteries in China,” according to the China-based parent company’s website. In 2014, Gotion expanded to the U.S. for battery research and development.
In October, Whitmer announced “Project Elephant,” a plan for Gotion to build a $2.3 billion battery plant in Big Rapids, Mich., calling it a “transformational investment.” Whitmer aimed to grant Gotion hundreds of millions of dollars of state incentives, but the funding was paused after pushback over the company’s China ties.
The pushback grew last week after a reported meeting in Afghanistan to discuss Chinese access to the nation’s vast lithium reserves.
On Thursday, executives of a Chinese company met with Afghan Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Shahabuddin Delawar, a senior leader of the Taliban, and offered a $10 billion investment for access to Afghanistan’s lithium deposits. The company was identified as “Gochin” on the ministry’s website.
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