Tesla's Musk Hails China's 'vitality' During Beijing Visit

Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st May, 2023 ) :Elon Musk praised China's "vitality and promise" on Wednesday, Beijing said, during a trip to the Chinese capital in which he met multiple government officials and reportedly declared he will expand his business there.

The mercurial tycoon, one of the world's richest men, is on his first trip to China in more than three years.

He met commerce minister Wang Wentao on Wednesday, praising "the vitality and potential of China's development", according to a ministry readout.

Musk "expressed full confidence in the China market, and was willing to continue deepening mutually beneficial cooperation", a readout of the meeting said.

He thanked China for "the support and guarantees it provided for Tesla's Shanghai factory during the Covid-19 pandemic" when it was placed under strict lockdowns.

Musk has extensive business interests in China and told foreign minister Qin Gang on Tuesday his firm was "willing to continue to expand its business in China", according to a foreign ministry readout.

Musk and Tesla have not released any statement themselves on the trip or responded to AFP requests for comment.

Chinese media reported Tesla welcomed its CEO to Beijing on Tuesday with a 16-course dinner that included seafood, New Zealand lamb, and traditional Beijing-style soybean paste noodles.

He also met industry minister Jin Zhuanglong in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss "the development of new energy vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles", the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a readout.

Tesla representatives did not respond to AFP requests for further information on Musk's itinerary.

China is the world's biggest electric vehicle market and Tesla announced in April it would build a second massive factory in Shanghai, after its Gigafactory that broke ground in 2019.