Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) warned Thursday that if BYD Co. Ltd.‘s (OTC:BYDDF) (OTC:BYDDY) CEO Wang Chuanfu joins Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s business delegation to the White House next week, it could signal that discussions are underway over whether to allow Chinese automakers greater access to the U.S. market, a move she said would be “a terrible outcome” for Michigan’s auto industry.
‘Watch What the President Does, Not What He Says’
“As always, watch what the President does, not what he says,” Slotkin said in a post on social media platform X.
She warned that Chinese automakers, “propped up by the Chinese government,” would “undercut our manufacturers and suppliers, wreak havoc on our industry, and take our jobs” if allowed into the country, threatening the 1.2 million Michigan jobs tied to the auto industry.
Trump told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham last week that he would be open to Chinese automakers building cars in the U.S. with American workers, while opposing Chinese-built vehicles being shipped into the U.S. from Mexico.
BYD Is Reportedly Under Consideration for Xi’s Delegation
Chinese officials are considering BYD founder for Xi’s business delegation ahead of the leaders’ Sept. 24 summit in Washington, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, though the list isn’t final.
The Pentagon added BYD to its expanded “1260H list” in June, identifying companies it believes have ties to China’s military or defense-industrial sector.
BYD has separately denied Pentagon allegations linking it to China’s military.
A 100% Tariff Wall on Chinese EVs
The U.S. has slapped a steep 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, effectively shutting Chinese automakers out of the American market entirely.
Xi’s business delegation would mark his largest since 2015, when he brought Chinese tech and banking executives to the U.S.
Trump has previously brought large U.S. business delegations to China, including Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, with 18 executives joining his May visit.
Trump and Xi are scheduled to meet in Washington on Sept. 24
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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