In China, rising star Elon Musk raises hopes of US involvement

Musk, the CEO of electric car maker Tesla, has become one of Trump’s most vocal supporters and could run for a Cabinet position in the next administration.

His name is also widely known in China thanks to Shanghai GigafactoryTesla’s largest plant in the world, as well as for major investments in the country during the economic downturn in China.

The prospect of Musk joining the US Cabinet has raised hopes in China that there will be more interaction between Washington and Beijing, with tech billionaires like him playing a role as a stabilizer in tense relations.

Musk has been given the red carpet during his visits to China and was one of the first US business executives to visit Beijing last year after China lifted Covid-19 travel restrictions.

When the Sino-American tech war began, he told then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang that Tesla opposed decoupling—the separation of Chinese and Western supply chains.