Prime Minister endorses Chinese car importer with ties to local PL donors

Prime Minister Robert Abela abused the weight of the state’s highest office to make a public appearance at the official launch of Changan Automobile’s operations in Malta, a Chinese car brand with ties to local business conglomerate and Labour Party donors Famalco Group.

On Saturday, the Department of Information issued an official press release quoting Abela’s remarks at the launch event, in which the Prime Minister lauded the local launch of Changan’s brand new Electric Vehicle (EV) model as an example of the private sector’s investment in clean energy.

“Malta is investing in cleaner transport, in renewable energy and in more innovative infrastructure to reduce emissions, improve air quality, and above all, the quality of life of Maltese and Gozitan people,” the Prime Minister said at the event.

Changan Automobile’s business in Malta is directly tied to FAPI Motors, one of Famalco Group’s many subsidiary business ventures. The push to secure a market in Malta forms part of the Chinese manufacturer’s €2 billion rollout in several European countries.

Over the years, several other Famalco Group subsidiaries hit the headlines for various reasons: a long-standing history of blatant illegalities in what used to be 20 tumoli of agricultural land in Attard, questionable ties with the Building and Construction Authority’s top brass, and their direct involvement as one of the Prime Minister’s preferred contractors for his own private development – an ODZ mansion in the otskirts of Zejtun –  to name a few.

To add insult to injury, the launch event was held in an Attard venue known as Alfa Gardens – an illegal ODZ site with no planning permits and an enforcement notice that has been under appeal for 12 years.

The venue, which is owned by Anthony Abela, is marketed for hire through another company named Event Planner Co Ltd, which is ultimately owned by Jean-Paul Busuttil.

The Prime Minister’s willingness to appear at a public event endorsing a Chinese automaker’s new venture with a wealthy, well-connected local business group raises further red flags within Europe’s broader geopolitical context.

China, whose economic growth is overwhelmingly dependent on the export of green technology, has effectively secured global dominance in the EV supply chain, leading to extensive lobbying from European automakers who are desperate to avoid being undercut by cheaper, mass-produced Chinese models.

Beyond saving the profit margins of Europe’s laggard automakers, much of the discussion at EU level has also centred around securing Europe’s industrial autonomy, amid heightened concerns about critical industries being completely dependent on hostile superpowers like the US, China, and Russia.

Despite such concerns about Chinese influence across Europe’s political spectrum, in particular over cyber-security and the Chinese government’s totalitarian system, the Labour Party continues to cement its ties with the world’s biggest manufacturing nation.

Besides owning a 33.3% stake in Enemalta through Shanghai Electric, the Chinese government has successfully managed to secure influence in Malta through numerous other fronts – with a recent business trip to Shanghai led by Construction Minister Jonathan Attard serving as the latest example of the Maltese government’s desire to reciprocate Chinese interest.

Shanghai Electric, through its joint venture with the Maltese government known as D3 Power Generation Ltd, had also acquired a 90% stake in Enemalta’s newest power plant, BWSC.