March 22, 2026

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In a high-tech office building in China, China's fourth richest man firmly believes that the United States will come to him sooner or later. He is the founder and leader of Zeng Yuqun, the world's largest power battery manufacturer Ningde Times (CATL).

In recent years, Washington has almost "ignored" Zeng Yuqun. In the eyes of the U.S. government, CATL is seen as a geopolitical risk that needs to be curtailed through tariffs and national security measures. However, despite the barriers, CATL remains a global leader in technology and low cost. Last year, the company posted a record profit of more than $10 billion. It is estimated that one in every three electric cars sold worldwide uses its batteries.

It is worth noting that this achievement was achieved even without the US market, which lags behind China and Europe in the adoption of electric vehicles, and CATL has a very limited presence. But Zeng Yuqun thinks it is only a matter of time. He pointed out that the U.S. electric vehicle market may be small in the short term, but it will break out later, which is an inevitable trend. Without CATL's involvement in building the future of electric vehicles, "it will be very difficult and costly".

The reality confirms this judgment to some extent. Ford recently terminated its cooperation with South Korea's SK Group on the battery project, and instead focused on the solution of using CATL technology in a $3 billion factory in Michigan. Although it is prohibited to build a separate plant in the United States, CATL can still participate through technology licensing. At the same time, GM also plans to import batteries made in China from CATL for the new Chevrolet Bolt models, despite being subject to tariffs of up to 60 percent. The model has only been sold for a short period of time, and GM's multi-billion dollar battery factory has not yet been able to produce the cheap batteries needed for Volkswagen models.

Even Tesla has adopted CATL's technology in its production system in Nevada to make energy storage systems-a fast-growing area, while Tesla's core electric vehicle business is showing signs of slowing down.

However, the reliance on a single Chinese manufacturer also raises concerns. Critics argue that incorporating CATL into the U.S. supply chain could make the country vulnerable to economic pressure from Beijing while undermining growth opportunities for local battery companies. Last year, CATL was even included in the Pentagon's list of companies associated with the Chinese military, which the company denied.

According to the analysis of expert William Zaritt, in the short term, the United States will completely "U-turn" and completely open to Chinese companies, especially in sensitive areas such as energy, and the possibility is extremely low. However, those who support the cooperation believe that CATL holds the key to reducing battery costs and popularizing electric vehicles. If it does not cooperate, the United States may never catch up with China.

CATL's success stems from a landmark technical decision. While many companies are investing tens of billions of dollars in research and development of lithium-ion batteries that use expensive nickel and cobalt, CATL is betting on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology, which is cheaper but has comparable performance. This decision creates a huge competitive advantage for the company. In CATL's factories, production processes are almost fully automated, managed by robots, machinery and AI quality control systems. The company now has more than 21000 engineers and deep expertise in electrochemistry-an area that Zeng says the U.S. has yet to catch up.

In fact, the cost of LFP batteries is as much as 30% lower than traditional batteries. Last year, CATL also developed a battery with a range of 800 kilometers and a 5-minute charge for 500 kilometers. That's why Ford chose CATL, because it could take up to 10 years to develop the technology on its own.

At present, competitors outside China are trying to close the gap. LG New Energy and General Motors are retrofitting factories to produce LFP batteries, while CATL continues to bet on sodium-ion battery technology-batteries that use salt instead of lithium, cost less and perform better in cold weather.

In China, Zeng Yuqun is regarded as a "national science and technology hero". He has been invited to meet with President Xi Jinping and participate in important political events. With global ambitions, Zeng Yuqun said that CATL not only wants to export products, but also wants to shape global technical standards.

Although it is currently impossible to build a factory in the United States due to legal obstacles, Zeng Yuqun still has different expectations for the future. He believes that commercial ties will eventually be stronger than political ties, and perhaps the doors will reopen by 2028. "I'm ready to invest in the United States," he said, "but the problem is that there are places where Chinese companies can't even buy land."