As the United States tries to wean itself from fossil fuels and rebuild its infrastructure to make electric car usage more feasible, policymakers need to ask whether the nation is prepared for a risky trade-off: tying Americans to dependence on yet another foreign source of energy. The electricity powering these vehicles is generated entirely at home, but electric cars are useless without batteries, and one nation completely dominates the battery market: China.
That’s the same nation the United States has accused repeatedly of spying on U.S. manufacturers, stealing U.S. trade secrets and unfairly subsidizing Chinese companies. The same country that is steadily seizing chunks of the South China Sea and harassing ships and fishing boats from other nations — prompting the United States to step up naval patrols in response. The same country whose growing military might and ability to deliver intercontinental ballistic missiles has prompted the United States to sign a $66 billion deal to supply Australia with nuclear submarines. The same country currently harassing Taiwan and shown in recent satellite imagery constructing mock U.S. warships in a desert to be used by Chinese aircraft for target practice.
There’s little doubt China is gearing up for potential confrontation with the United States on every commercial, military and strategic level. The West cannot afford to be dependent on a nation that has potentially hostile intentions while it also controls the single component that makes America’s conversion to electric cars and trucks viable.
