President Joe Biden has faced criticism from the right throughout his administration for his perceived deference toward China, fueling speculation that his family’s business deals in the communist nation might have had an influence on his foreign policy agenda.
As China bolsters its role as a world leader in battery production for electric vehicles, the Biden administration’s nearly billion-dollar loan to a domestic battery production plant is coming under renewed scrutiny.
The $850 million loan to KORE Power, which is planning to use it for the construction of a facility in Arizona, was announced last year and described by the White House as a way to “strengthen the domestic battery supply chain.”
In reality, according to documents unveiled by the Washington Free Beacon this week, KORE Power is co-owned by a Chinese company that benefits from the U.S. taxpayer investment.
Specifically, Do-Fluoride New Materials, or DFD — a manufacturing company based in China and under the direction of Chinese Communist Party official Li Shijiang — is a 14% owner of the supposedly domestic company. Additionally, Li’s daughter, Li Lingyun, serves as one of KORE Power’s directors.
KORE Power, funded by a Biden administration loan, has ties to Chinese battery maker, raising concerns about US-China connections. The loan could aid China’s global dominance in green energy. Li family connections and lobbying add to scrutiny. https://t.co/Z1n1w8xnVW
— The America One News (@am1_news) February 28, 2024
This is not the first time the Free Beacon has exposed such a direct Chinese connection to a recipient of a nine-figure Biden administration handout. Following a report last year about battery manufacturer Microvast’s China-based operations, the Department of Energy halted its plan to provide the company with a $200 million grant.
As for its role in the KORE Power deal, however, the federal agency claimed it had performed “extensive due diligence” to ensure that the loan would be used appropriately, insisting that the company has vowed to reduce the stake that China has in its operations.
“The partnership with DFD provides KORE with access to proven IP and an experienced team — experience that does not currently exist at [that] scale [in] the United States, but through this partnership will be transferred to American workers and to an American company,” the Energy Department said in an attempt to justify the Chinese firm’s influence.
Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland offered a different perspective on the terms of the loan.
“For a program that was supposed to decrease America’s reliance on China, this is incredibly counterproductive,” she said. “It’s outrageous that a company partly owned by a Chinese company with ties to the [Chinese Communist Party] would be rewarded with taxpayer money.”
