The Republican described the plant, which would have been run by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, as a “Trojan horse structure to gain access to taxpayer incentives” from Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act that gives rebates for electric vehicles.
“This is using taxpayer money to further enrich a Chinese company at the expense of America. It’s just not happening in America,” Mr. Youngkin said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” “This should be an American supply chain that’s trusted, not one that’s outsourced to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Mr. Youngkin’s decision to pull Virginia from the running late last year came as other Republican governors, including South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Florida’s Ron DeSantis, look to prevent Chinese companies from buying farmland and making other real estate investments. “The liberal agenda will stand up to China until it gets uncomfortable, and the minute it encroaches on their green agenda … they will back down,” Mr. Youngkin said. “We must be tough here.”