Michigan Town Asks Appeals Court to Allow It to Stop Chinese Battery Plant Project

The case highlights how Americans have grown increasingly wary of Chinese purchases of U.S. land over national security concerns.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2013. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

A small Michigan town, Green Charter Township, took its fight against a Chinese-owned battery plant to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio on May 8.

The case highlights growing unease on the local, state, and federal levels regarding Chinese land purchases in rural areas, especially those near military facilities or sensitive infrastructure.