Tesla CEO Elon Musk began his visit to China on Tuesday with a gathering with the country’s foreign minister in Beijing, marking his return to the electrical automobile maker’s largest production center after three years.
The trip is the last return of a top US CEO to China for the reason that country reopened its borders and adjusted its COVID-free policy in December.
Apple’s Tim Cook visited in March, and JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon and Starbucks’ Laxman Narasimhan are also in China this week.
Musk met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang hours after landing in Beijing.
Qin told Musk China he was committed to improving the business environment for investors, including Tesla, and used an elaborate driving metaphor to explain China-US relations, in accordance with a press release from his ministry.
“We must apply the brakes in time, avoid dangerous driving, and use the accelerator skillfully to advertise mutually useful cooperation,” Qin said.
The foreign ministry quoted Musk as saying he was able to expand into China and opposes the separation of the US and Chinese economies, adding that he described the world’s two largest economies as “linked twins”.
Tesla didn’t reply to a request for comment on Musk’s travels, itinerary or meeting with Qin.
China is Tesla’s second largest market after the United States.
Musk, who also owns Twitter, remained silent on the platform after arriving in China, where Twitter is banned but available to some users via a virtual private network.
He also didn’t post on his official Weibo account.
He is predicted to fulfill other senior Chinese officials on his trip and visit Tesla’s Shanghai factory, Reuters reported on Monday, though it was unclear who exactly he would meet or what issues they might discuss.
A source accustomed to the matter said on Tuesday that a gathering with Zeng Yuqun, the president of CATL, the Chinese battery giant and a key Tesla supplier, can be planned in Beijing. CATL didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Reuters reported in March that Musk was planning a visit to China and was looking for a gathering with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
During a visit to China in 2019, Musk met with then-Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
A 12 months later, he caused a buzz on Chinese social media by dancing on stage to have fun the opening of a Tesla factory in Shanghai.
Growing competition for Tesla
Tesla is facing intensifying competition from Chinese electric vehicles and uncertainty over plans to expand its Shanghai facility, its largest manufacturing hub.
Tesla investors are questioning whether and by how much the electrical automobile maker will increase production in Shanghai.
Wedbush investment firm analyst Daniel Ives said he expects Tesla to “aggressively deal with constructing its footprint in China.”
Despite increasing competition, China’s electric vehicle market, the world’s largest, has develop into the “golden goose EV market,” he said, referring to the source of continued profits.
In a note to investors, he called Tesla’s Shanghai plant the “heart and lungs” of the corporate’s global production.
Another issue for investors is whether or not Chinese regulators will allow Tesla’s advanced driver assistance features available within the US to be made available under its “Full Self Driving” software, which sells for $15,000 per vehicle.
Musk’s space company, SpaceX, and the military applications of its Starlink satellite network have also been watched with interest and concern by Chinese researchers since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
State-owned Chinese corporations are rushing to follow Starlink by launching their very own communications satellites into low Earth orbit. Chinese military scientists have studied Starlink as a potentially dangerous technology, in accordance with a study reviewed by Reuters.
