"The sale of advanced battery maker A123 to China's Wanxiang Group could recoup US taxpayer funds. But critics warn the threats to US security outweigh any benefits from the pending sale of A123."

"The auction sale to a Chinese company of bankrupt advanced battery maker A123 Systems, which received millions in US taxpayer support, is drawing heavy fire for both national and economic security concerns.

On Sunday, the US-based auto parts subsidiary of China's Wanxiang Group, outbid US-based Johnson Controls, Japan's NEC, and Germany's Siemens by paying $256.6 million for the assets of the company. A Delaware bankruptcy court was weighing the deal Tuesday.

If approved by the bankruptcy judge, the sale of A123 still must go through one more hoop. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal advisory group led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, still must approve any sale of a US business to a foreign company."

Mark Clayton reports for the Christian Science Monitor December 11, 2012. [2]