Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears set to visit China amid an increasingly icy relationship between Beijing and Washington.
Elon Musk is reportedly planning to visit China in April to meet with the country’s Prime Minister Li Qiang. However, internal sources explained that the timing of Musk’s visit remains subject to Li Qiang’s availability.
Elon Musk’s trip to China would mark the first time the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO has visited the East Asian nation since Covid. Musk last visited China when President Xi Jinping was still serving his second term as leader of the world’s second-largest economy. Xi Jinping secured a third five-year term as China’s president earlier this month.
Musk’s planned trip to China comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington. The Tesla CEO is in the middle of this diplomatic spat because China is home to the electric vehicle maker’s largest manufacturing facility. The prominent East Asian country is also Tesla’s largest market outside the United States.
The exact purpose of Musk’s visit to China is unknown
Meeting with Li, a senior government official and close ally of President Xi Jinping, Musk seeks a realignment of personal interests. Beijing recently stepped up efforts to reinvigorate foreign investment in China after more than two years of Covid-induced restrictions.
The reports did not officially state the purpose of Musk’s trip to China or what he intends to discuss with Li. However, speculation is that the Musk and Li meeting could address the benefits of possible foreign investment between the two parties.
Musk and Li first met at the opening of Tesla’s Shanghai plant in 2019 when the latter was still Shanghai City Party Secretary. Later, Li was instrumental in building and opening the city’s manufacturing plant, which is now the center of Tesla’s production.
In 2020, Musk and Li met again, albeit virtually, when they participated in an online forum. At the time, the Tesla boss expressed his thanks to the then Shanghai party secretary for supporting the factory’s operations during the pandemic.
Recent Timeline of the Musk-China Relationship
Although Musk appears to have a cordial relationship with the Chinese government, the business mogul found himself in hot water last month. In February, Chinese state media reacted angrily to Musk statement suggesting that Covid emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan. On February 26, the tycoon commented on a cheep referencing a US state department’s conclusion that Covid originated in a Wuhan laboratory.
The state-controlled Global Times warned the outspoken billionaire against proverbially biting the hand that feeds him. In addition to referencing the importance of China to Tesla, the English-language Chinese newspaper accused Musk of slandering China.
Although Musk did not publicly react to the controversy, a former Trump adviser recently attacked him over his alleged ties to China. Earlier this month, Steve Bannon claimed that Tesla’s head was “the property of the Chinese Communist Party.” Bannon also described Musk as a “complete and complete fake” for refusing to uncensor CCP critics on Twitter. In response to Bannon’s accusations, Musk tweeted:
“I used to think that Bannon was smart and evil, but now I realize that I was wrong in the first part.”
Last week, Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, visited China for the first time. quite emotion on Chinese social media.
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Tolu is a Lagos-based blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiast. He likes to demystify crypto stories down to the basics so that anyone anywhere can understand them without too much prior knowledge. When he’s not up to his neck in crypto-stories, Tolu likes music, loves to sing, and is an avid movie buff.
