Top Beijing official urges Musk to deepen ties with China – state media

Elon Musk attends a candlelight dinner for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at the National Building Museum on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Agence France-Presse

BEIJING — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with tech tycoon Elon Musk and urged US firms to “seize the opportunity” to deepen economic ties with China, Beijing’s state media said Monday.

Han — who is set to attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump later on Monday — met with Musk and other American business representatives on Sunday, Xinhua said.

The world’s richest person, Tesla and SpaceX CEO and majority owner of X has become one of Trump’s closest allies, sharing his hard-right politics and putting millions of dollars into supporting his presidential campaign.

READ: Why is Elon Musk all over US politics?

Musk also enjoys a cult following in China, a major market for Tesla, where the company has one of its so-called gigafactories and is trying to compete with fast-growing home-grown manufacturers.

Speaking to Musk on Sunday, Han urged Tesla and other US firms to “seize the opportunity and share in the fruits of China’s development, and make new and greater contributions to promoting China-US economic and trade relations”, according to Xinhua.

Musk, in turn, said Tesla was keen “to deepen investment cooperation with China” as well as play an “active role” in trade between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

READ: Will White House be big enough for Trump — and Musk?

Trump in his election campaign threatened China and other US trading partners with new tariffs, but he has also said he is open to talks with President Xi Jinping, a leader he has long openly admired.

The two spoke by phone on Friday, with both leaders vowing to improve ties between the rival countries.

Han also met Sunday with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Xinhua said.