Asian Tech Press (Feb 8) -- Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), a leading Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, denied Tuesday that it was consulting U.S. bodies on possibility of getting sanctioned by Washington.

Earlier, Tesla's Chinese battery supplier disclosed its 2021 annual performance forecast, with aan expected full-year net profit of 14 billion to 16.5 billion yuan ($2.2 billion to $2.6 billion), up 150.75%-195.52% year-on-year. And it is also CATL's highest profit margin since the company's IPO in 2018.

However, the Chinese battery maker's shares were hit hard on Tuesday, plunging as much as 8.8% at one point, the biggest drop since December last year.

Such a tumble by CATL, according to some reports, stems from disclosure by sources that the company is seeking help from professional bodies in the U.S. to consult on the possibility of its being sanctioned by the Biden administration.

What made Tesla battery supplier aware of the crisis was a story published by The New York Times on Dec. 22, 2021, titled "Why a Chinese Company Dominates Electric Car Batteries."

The media outlet wrote in the story that CATL's "dominance has stirred fears in Washington that Detroit could someday be rendered obsolete and that Beijing could control American driving in the 21st century the way that oil-producing nations sometimes could in the 20th."

In response, there was suspicion that someone was preparing to maliciously short CATL, thus releasing such news that it was seeking help from professional bodies to consult on the possibility of its being sanctioned by the U.S.