Musk, China industry minister hold talks on ‘new energy vehicles’: ministry

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Chinese industry minister Jin Zhuanglong held talks on “new energy vehicles” Wednesday, Beijing said.

The two “exchanged views on the development of new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles”, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a readout on its website.

It did not share further details. Tesla representatives did not respond to AFP requests for further information on Musk’s itinerary.

Musk arrived in Beijing Tuesday on his first trip to China in more than three years.

China is the world’s biggest electric vehicle market and Tesla announced in April it would build a second massive factory in Shanghai.

That factory will be Tesla’s second plant in Shanghai after Gigafactory, which broke ground in 2019.

In a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang on Tuesday, Musk said he was “willing to continue to expand its business in China”, according to a foreign ministry readout.

He also expressed his opposition to an economic “decoupling” between China and the United States, Beijing said.

Musk’s extensive business ties to China have raised eyebrows in Washington, with President Joe Biden saying in November that the executive’s links to foreign countries were “worthy” of scrutiny.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Tuesday that the country welcomed visits by international executives “to better understand China and promote mutually beneficial cooperation”.