Gavin Newsom hammered for showing off $160K Chinese EV during China trip: 'Slap in the face'

FIRST ON FOX: Several California lawmakers came out swinging after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom promoted a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker during his diplomatic visit to China.

On Tuesday, Newsom traveled to Shenzhen and test-drove a hybrid vehicle manufactured by BYD Company, a massive Chinese manufacturing corporation and automaker. According to a 2019 report published by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, BYD boasts direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party's industrial policy apparatus and has received billions of dollars in grants and subsidies from the Chinese government.

Newsom's visit to Shenzhen came on the second day of his weeklong trip to China. He first traveled to Hong Kong and is set to travel to Beijing, Jiangsu and Shanghai.

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The clip of Newsom sparked backlash from California Republicans and was mocked on social media.

"Governor Newsom ought to know that China isn’t a trusted partner and shouldn’t be an example for us to follow," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told FOX Business. "Endorsing Beijing manufacturing — so much of which is stolen from American innovators — may advance partisan climate politics, but it won’t do anything to deliver real prosperity to Californians suffering under the failed policies of Sacramento and the record inflation of Bidenomics."

"Governor Newsom is more interested in promoting Chinese companies than American," Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., added in a statement to FOX Business. "Ultimately, anything produced in China will be dirtier and produced with potential slave labor." 

"To promote China’s polluting industry while destroying California jobs and making everything more expensive, is a text book example of democrat priorities," LaMalfa continued. "A bit of a tip to him — his shadow Presidential campaign should be focused on supporting American exceptionalism, not pandering to the Chinese Communist Party."

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Prior to the trip, Newsom pledged to use it to further California-China cooperation on various climate issues including "cleaning the air, accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, protecting people from extreme weather and conserving lands and oceans."

"It is slap in the face to Californians to see Gov. Newsom promote the CCP’s electric cars, built off the backs of slave labor," said Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif. "Meanwhile, he and the Democratic party discourage the mining of critical minerals required to make the batteries for these cars."

"U.S. domestic mining is the cleanest and safest in the world and would bring huge economic benefits to California and the United States," she continued. "Gov. Newsom choosing to promote the Chinese Communist Party over the welfare of his state makes clear where his priorities lie."

Meanwhile, Newsom's trip comes as he continues to aggressively push a green energy transition in California. As part of his climate agenda, his administration issued environmental regulations in August 2022 banning gas-powered cars and mandating electric cars by 2035. 

Newsom celebrated the EV mandate, saying his state would continue to "lead the revolution towards our zero-emission transportation future." However, in a bipartisan vote last month, the House voted to strike down the mandate by revoking a waiver the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California which enabled the regulations.

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"I find it ironic that Gov. Newsom is using his time in China to promote the Chinese-produced BYD hybrid when his own administration is attempting to restrict sales of hybrid vehicles like the one he drove," Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., told FOX Business. "I hope he will reconsider his misinformed attempt to limit the sale of hybrids and withdraw his request for an EPA waiver that would allow him to impose this decision on California consumers."

"If not, my bill, the Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, which recently passed the House on a bipartisan basis, will direct the EPA to deny his waiver and protect Americans right to make their own choices about which vehicle is best for their families," he added.

Additionally, China currently dominates the global EV supply chain, meaning U.S. mandates would likely serve to largely benefit Chinese industry.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China produces about 75% of all lithium-ion batteries, a key part of EVs, worldwide. The nation also boasts 70% of production capacity for cathodes and 85% for anodes, two key components of such batteries. 

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In addition, more than 50% of lithium, cobalt and graphite processing and refining capacity is located in China, the IEA data showed. Those three critical minerals, in addition to copper and nickel, are vital for EV batteries. Chinese investment firms have also been aggressive in purchasing stakes in African mines, especially those rich with cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in recent years to ensure a firm control over mineral production.

Permitting and environmental regulations have largely prevented the U.S. industry from gaining any traction in the global EV supply chain. For example, in 2022, the U.S. produced no graphite, less than .01% of global cobalt, less than .01% of global nickel, and about 6% of global copper, federal geological data showed. The U.S. processes virtually no copper, nickel, cobalt, lithium or rare earth minerals.