News that China’s largest auto parts maker is seeking a controlling stake in one of the most heralded U.S. green technology companies, A123 Systems, has quickly ignited into a debate on national security and the energy future.

Of course, the Obama administration, which supported A123 with a $249.1 million grant in 2009, like the Bush administration before it, always argued that energy investments were aimed at strengthening national security. But Chinese deals for U.S. energy companies, an increasingly common feature of the business landscape this year, as we reported, were never meant to be part of that narrative.

A123, a spinoff of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used its federal funds to open factories in Livonia and Romulus, Michigan to produce advanced