So lightning was Elon Musk’s visit to China that he did not arrive after 48 hours, less than two days during which the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX starred in a busy schedule in Beijing and Shanghai. However, it is one thing to be fast and another to escape the spotlight, especially when he is the wealthiest tycoon in the world. And Musk’s accelerated tour of China was less discreet in tone: the local press highlighted his almost hero’s welcome, and Reuters assures that praise rained down on Chinese networks presenting him as an “idol”.
Little to do with the tone that accompanies him in the West, where after the lurches on Twitter Musk is not going through his best moment in terms of popularity.
What has happened? That Musk has just completed his first visit to China since 2020, a fleeting 44-hour tour, which he took advantage of to meet with leaders and businessmen. Between his landing in Beijing, on Tuesday, and his departure from Shanghai, on Thursday, he carried out an intense schedule, with meetings with the vice-premier of China, a trusted man of Xi Jinping; the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Industry and the president of CATL, the largest battery company for electric cars on the planet and a supplier to Tesla.
Included in the tour, of course, was a visit to Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai. After passing through the factory, Musk himself hung up the photo which heads this article along with a message of encouragement: “Congratulations to the Giga Shanghai and Tesla China SDS team for their excellent work.” During his time in the metropolis, he took the opportunity to also meet with the local head of the party, Chen Jining.
What reception did you receive? As a hero and “ideal investor”, with flattery and lavish 16-course banquets in a luxury restaurant, headlines in the local press that presented him as a businessman determined to bet decisively on China and comments on networks that referred to him such as “a pioneer”, “world idol” or even “brother Ma”. And that is citing only references collected by the major Chinese and international media that have covered his visit.
His good reception in Asia coincides with a delicate stage for the tycoon in the West in terms of popularity, marked by the lurches on Twitter, staff cuts or the balance of the first test of the SpaceX Starship.
And what message did he send? One that Beijing has not been slow to use to its advantage, presenting it as a boost to its economy and an attractive investor in a scenario marked by tensions with Washington. This is reported by media linked to the Chinese Communist Party, such as People’s Daily or Global Times, which underline how, beyond the readings that his presence in China may leave, Musk was explicitly against distancing himself from Beijing.
“Although the White House agrees with the arguments in favor of disassociation, the Musks [del mundo] they will not be”, collected a blog affiliated with People’s Daily, the party’s official newspaper. The Tesla CEO would have even been willing to further expand his business in China, which, although it may soon lose its status as the most populous nation “The Chinese people are diligent and wise, and it is only natural that China can achieve such development achievements,” he said.
What reading does it leave? The question is answered with a look at some of the mainstream Chinese media. “Musk’s trip demonstrates the firm confidence of US companies in the Chinese market despite noises of ‘decoupling’ from some Western politicians,” reported the Global Times after the visit. “The warm welcome and wide attention he received on the networks show the country’s welcoming attitude toward ‘friendly’ US companies and mutual efforts to reach a deal […] in clear contrast to the disassociation measures of the US authorities”.
What is the backdrop? Complex. Both because of the geopolitical and business landscape and because of the one faced by Elon Musk himself, who beyond Tesla is also CEO of SpaceX, a company with important contracts with the US government. Since 2022, the tycoon is also the owner of Twitter, a social platform that he bought for 44,000 million dollars, flying the flag of freedom of expression and which is prohibited by the Chinese authorities.
“Freedom of expression is the basis of a democracy that works. And Twitter is the digital square,” Musk has come to proclaim, whose visit to China coincided with an unusual stoppage of publications on his usually hyperactive account.
And at a geopolitical level? Musk’s landing in China comes preceded by strong political and technological tensions between Washington and Beijing and shortly after the Chinese authorities put foreign consultancies under their magnifying glass. Not only that. After the severe lessons learned during the pandemic and the “Zero Covid” policy applied by Beijing, some relevant technology companies have begun to seek new horizons beyond the Asian giant.
In addition to being willing to expand Tesla’s business in the country, Musk would have insisted that China and the United States are “joined twins” with inseparable interests. All this, of course, according to the local media.
Is Musk a unique case? No. Musk is not the only Western businessman who has paraded or plans to do so for the Asian giant. Over the last few months, Tim Cook, from Apple; Albert Bourla, from Pfizer, and more recently Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, or Jamie Dimon, from JP Morgan, who has called for a “real compromise” between the two superpowers. China is, after all, a key market.
And Tesla knows this firsthand. In 2019 he opened his factory in Shanghai, which has achieved a remarkable production rate, and barely two months ago, in April, he announced a factory in the same city to make Megapack batteries. Global Times says that during the first quarter of 2023 the Chinese car market accounted for more than 30% of Musk’s company’s global sales and more than 20% of its revenue despite fierce competition from BYD, which has reached surpass Volkswagen as the best-selling brand in the country.
Cover image: Elon Musk (Twitter)
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