Former Canadian diplomat warns that Chinese EVs are a ploy to ‘control’ the world — so why is Trump saying, ‘Let China come in’?

Beijing immediately retaliated against Canada, arresting Kovrig in China, where he was imprisoned for nearly (1) three years until Canada released Wanzhou in 2021.

Now Kovrig is warning the world that China's cheap electric vehicles (EVs) are another form of leverage in its push for global power.

"They want to control the tech stack, and then use control of that tech for geopolitical dominance and leverage," Kovrig warned.

That's why he has criticized (2) Canada's new deal with China that will allow 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada at a low 6.1% tariff in exchange for China easing duties on Canadian canola, seafood and peas.

Kovrig believes the deal will lead to unfair competition and the slow erosion of Canada's industrial base.

In contrast, President Trump believes Chinese EVs could be good for the U.S. While he refuses to let Chinese EVs flood the U.S. market via Canada, he said he would welcome Chinese automakers like BYD and Xiaomi into the U.S.

"Let China come in (3)," he told the Detroit Economic Club in January.

But as he made clear, it's on one condition (3).

Chinese EVs, made in the U.S.

Trump isn't interested in imported Chinese EVs. He's interested in made-in-the-U.S.A. Chinese EVs.

"If they want to come in and build a plant and hire you and hire your friends and your neighbors, that's great, I love that," he said. "Let China come in, let Japan come in."

Building Chinese factories on American soil means more jobs (even as manufacturing becomes increasingly automated), more U.S. tax revenue and cheaper cars for Americans.

A January AutoPacific poll found 76% of Americans under 40 years would consider buying a Chinese-made car (4). The average new car in the U.S. now costs more than $48,000, while Chinese manufacturers are selling feature-rich EVs with enough features to compete with Western equivalents for $8,000 to $42,000 (5).

That's why reviews of BYD, Xiaomi and Zeekr vehicles are already flooding American TikTok and YouTube (6) as Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Car influencer Richard Benoit flew to Alaska to test-drive Chinese EVs shipped onto U.S. soil.

His video — "I drove the cheap Chinese cars that are illegal in the USA. Now I know why" — has nearly 2 million views (7).

"The second I mention a Chinese car, the videos skyrocket," he told Bloomberg (6). "Americans want these cars — they just do."

The catch Trump's invitation doesn't address

The 100% tariff on Chinese-made EVs, first imposed under Biden and maintained by Trump, is still in place. There's also the U.S. Department of Commerce rule that effectively bans Chinese software and hardware from connected vehicles sold in the U.S. — software by 2027, hardware by 2030 (8).

Any Chinese-owned factory building cars on American soil would still need to strip out Chinese tech to sell them domestically.

That's the part Kovrig is warning about. He said Chinese companies could sidestep full manufacturing by shipping knockdown kits (9) (flat-pack car parts assembled locally) which creates almost no domestic technology transfer or supply chain development.

"They want the whole tech stack," he said.