A mobile transportation company with headquarters in Beijing is looking to expand into the electric vehicle market, though some U.S. senators have concerns over its links with the Chinese Communist Party.
The ride-hailing business Didi Chuxing is in negotiations with Sinomach Automobile to buy one-third of its EV unit, Sinomach Zhijun Automobile, Reuters reported. The purchase is expected to cost over 1 billion yuan, or $150 million.
"(Didi) offers a wide range of app-based services across markets including Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa, including ride hailing, taxi hailing, chauffeur, hitch and other forms of shared mobility as well as auto solutions, food delivery, intra-city freight and financial services," Didi's website said.
Talks between Didi and Sinomach Automobile have a deadline of the end of June, Reuters reported. If successful, Didi would be the second-largest EV market shareholder behind Sinomach Automobile, Reuters reported.
Didi is also in the process of "developing autonomous driving technologies" and "plans to launch two EVs": one serving the ride-hailing market that has been rapidly expanding and the other for consumers, Reuters said.
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Todd Young (R-IN) recently wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler raising concerns over security issues poised by U.S. personnel using services from companies such as Didi due to their ties to the CCP.
"We write to express our concern with the risk posed by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) control over a rapidly growing number of technology companies and the sensitive data that these companies collect when operating outside of the People's Republic of China (PRC)," Rubio and Young said in the letter, which specifically names Didi. "The risk extends far beyond the handful of 5G network, surveillance camera, and social media companies that have received the overwhelming majority of attention to date."
At the time the letter was written, Didi operated in 17 countries outside of China and had plans for expansion into the European Union and United Kingdom, the letter said.
Rubio and Young alleged that Didi has a close relationship with the CCP, putting the massive amount of data collected by the company into its hands.
"Ministry of State Security intelligence agents are now stationed inside of Didi’s offices with direct access to this data," the letter said. "The company is also reportedly in talks to turn over all its data to a state-controlled third party and to grant Beijing a direct ownership stake with board representation and special governance rights over the data that Didi collects."
The letter called on the United States to prevent U.S. personnel from using platforms that have been linked to Beijing's data collection practices.
