The world’s biggest electric-vehicle battery maker has hit back against accusations that it poses a national security threat after the Chinese company’s technology was cut off from a US military base. “Accusations about CATL batteries posing espionage threats are false and misleading,” said the company in a statement on Thursday. “Our products have passed rigorous safety and security reviews including those by US authorities and businesses.”
The battery maker’s statement follows an open letter on Friday from Republican senator Marco Rubio and other lawmakers to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, which alleged CATL was close to the Chinese leadership and that its presence on a US military base in North Carolina was “inexcusable”.
“The CCP’s pattern of espionage leaves little room for doubt that CATL products pose a threat to national security at any base where they are installed,” said the letter.