The arrival of billionaire Elon Musk to the next Donald Trump government could be an unexpected card for China, which has always praised Tesla’s presence in the Asian giant to the point of referring to the company as a “successful example” of cooperation between China and the United States.
Musk will head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, in English), to promote “large-scale structural reforms”, a position that is a priori unrelated to US trade policy towards China.
some voices They assure that the Chinese Government has been preparing for a second Trump term for months, and there Musk would come into play as a “bridge” or “access route” to deal with the next American president given his interests in China, a country that he has visited on several occasions.
The tycoon of South African origin, He even met in 2023 in San Francisco with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, to whom he expressed his gratitude “for the development of the electric vehicle industry” in the Asian country and his support “for the development of Tesla in China.”
Tesla, flagship in the Asian giant
The social network X, bought by Musk in October 2022, is banned in Chinawhich also seeks to build its own aeronautical and space network, thus, ruling out SpaceX, The magnate’s interests in the Asian country focus on his automobile company Teslawhich in 2019 opened a megafactory in the eastern megalopolis of Shanghai.
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The businessman assured this April, during a visit to China, that This plant is “the company’s best performing plant” worldwide“thanks to the hard work and wisdom of the Chinese team.”
The factory produced more than 900 thousand vehicles in 2023 alonemany of which are part of the 1.7 million vehicles sold by Tesla in China since it entered the country’s market a decade ago.
Last spring, Musk also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, this time in Beijing, who assured him that Tesla is “an example of the successful economic and commercial cooperation” between both countries.
At that meeting, the tycoon, who expressed on social networks his respect for the Chinese people “and their innovations”, He would have asked Li for the regulatory approval he needs from the Chinese Government to operate his FSD platform, the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, in the Asian country, according to the Financial Times newspaper.
China, very “attentive” to Musk’s role
Given this situation, Chinese officials cited by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, They assure that the Chinese Government is “very attentive” to the role that Musk may play.
Academics such as Nanjing University professor Zhu Feng assure that Beijing will wait to see what real influence Musk will have on the next US governmentwho will nevertheless continue to ask for a “stable, healthy and sustainable” bilateral relationship, as Xi noted in his congratulatory call to Trump last month.
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“Even if Trump increases his pressure on China, Beijing will continue to emphasize that both countries must continue working together“he points out.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicated that Musk’s appointment is “an internal matter” of the US, so It is a topic on which the Government of the Asian country rules out giving an opinion.
However, experts believe that China is preparing, at the same time, for an intensification of the trade war that Trump started during his first government (2017-2021)which in turn would double Beijing’s efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency and diversify its trade to reduce its dependence on American exports.
According to Zhu, after living out his first term, “Trump’s style is much better understood in Chinawhich will allow the Government to be better prepared.”
“The main thing is that we know that US policy towards China will not go back to what it was before. China understands this and accepts it,” says the analyst.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated drastically during Trump’s first presidency. with several rounds of tariffs on Chinese products and collisions at levels such as diplomatic or technological, while with Joe Biden in the White House, tension was revived with scuffles over Taiwan, or due to restrictions on exports to China of semiconductors and other key technology.
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