The Securitization of China's Electric Vehicle Industry in the United States Political Discourse

This thesis investigates how the United States has securitized China's electric vehicle (EV) industry in political discourse between 2020 and 2025. Despite EVs being fundamentally civilian technologies, the U.S. government has increasingly framed Chinese EVs as national security threats—culminating in extraordinary measures such as a 247.5% tariff that effectively blocks their entry into the American market. Rather than assessing whether Chinese EVs pose an objective threat, this project analyzes how such a threat is constructed through rhetorical framing and discursive strategies by political elites. Anchored in securitization theory as developed by the Copenhagen School, this research innovates on existing frameworks by introducing a multi-sectoral and audience-specific model of securitization. It argues that emerging technologies like EVs cannot be neatly categorized into single sectors (e.g., military, economic, cyber); instead, they are securitized through overlapping narratives that simultaneously draw from multiple security logics. Specifically, this study shows that the securitization of China's EV industry in the U.S. emerges through three interlinked axes: economic security (concerns over industrial overcapacity and job loss), supply chain security (dependence on Chinese critical minerals), and cybersecurity (fears about EVs as data-collecting, remotely accessible devices). Moreover, the research finds that different framings are strategically deployed to resonate with specific audiences: economic security dominates rhetoric aimed at the general public, while cybersecurity and supply chain concerns are more common in elite policy discourse. Methodologically, this study conducts a qualitative content analysis of 34 primary-source documents—including speeches, fact sheets, congressional records, and federal agency reports—sourced from U.S. government institutions between 2020 and 2025. The analysis reveals a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of securitizing language over time, especially in 2024 and 2025, coinciding with heightened electoral competition and escalating great-power rivalry. Finally, the thesis argues that the extraordinary tariffs imposed on Chinese EVs serve as a policy-level manifestation of successful securitization. By comparing the U.S. approach with both the more accommodative 1980s U.S.–Japan auto diplomacy and the EU's moderate tariff scheme, the project demonstrates that U.S. measures are uniquely severe. This reveals not only the discursive power of the "China Threat" narrative, but also how national security rhetoric can override economic logic and climate goals. In doing so, this thesis contributes original theoretical and empirical insights to the fields of securitization studies, international political economy, and China–U.S. relations.