Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO, CATL | CATL
Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO, CATL | CATL
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) announced that its shares surged by 12.55 percent on the first day of trading following the company’s Hong Kong listing. This announcement was made in a press release.
According to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), as CATL seeks to expand its footprint in the U.S. through a licensing partnership with Ford to build a Michigan battery plant, bipartisan concerns have intensified over the national security implications of Chinese involvement in critical supply chains. The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and other congressional panels have launched inquiries into whether such partnerships circumvent U.S. restrictions and enable sensitive technological dependencies. Arrangements like Ford’s deal with CATL could undermine domestic energy resilience and violate the spirit of recent procurement and trade legislation.
The FDD warns that Ford’s licensing deal with CATL may allow it to claim federal EV battery subsidies while technically avoiding direct Chinese ownership, a legal workaround that critics call "form over substance." The foundation notes that while Ford owns the physical plant, CATL maintains control over intellectual property, battery chemistry, and key software elements. This arrangement undermines the intent of anti-China industrial policy.
Fox Business reports that House Republicans are threatening to subpoena Ford Motor Company over its refusal to fully disclose the terms of its partnership with CATL. Lawmakers have requested internal documents, communication records, and third-party correspondence to determine if Ford is bypassing Foreign Economic Order Control (FEOC) safeguards. The subpoena threat underscores intensifying congressional oversight of corporate ties to China.
Robin Zeng is a Chinese entrepreneur and the founder of CATL, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries. Holding a Ph.D. in physics from the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zeng began his career in battery technology by founding Amperex Technology Limited, which later evolved into CATL in 2011. As of 2025, his net worth is estimated at over $33 billion, making him one of Asia’s wealthiest and most influential figures in the clean energy sector, according to Good Returns.
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