DOE to give $200M grant to Chinese-run battery maker with ‘Talent Program’ recruit.

FBI Warns of Chinese Economic Espionage Through Talent Recruitment Programs

The FBI has issued a warning about Chinese talent recruitment programs being used for economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. This comes as the founder of a lithium battery company, set to receive a $200 million grant from the Biden administration, was brought to China through one of these programs.

• The founder and CEO of Microvast, Wu Yang, was recruited to move back to China from the United States in 2000 as part of a Chinese government-sponsored “talent program.”
• The grant to Microvast could conflict with the Department of Energy’s policy, which prohibits funding for people involved in foreign talent programs.
• The Department of Energy has faced criticism for its proposed grant to Microvast, which operates primarily out of China.
• Sen. John Barrasso is urging Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to terminate the department’s award negotiations with Microvast.
• The Chinese Communist Party often uses talent recruitment programs to encourage trade secret theft and economic espionage, according to the FBI.

The involvement of Microvast’s CEO in a talent recruitment program could further complicate the grant deal. The Energy Department has yet to confirm Wu’s participation, but if it is confirmed, it could tank Microvast’s grant.

Sen. Barrasso is calling for a suspension of grants until a robust, pre-selection security review process for awardees is finalized by the department with input from other members of the intelligence community.