‘New star’ Elon Musk and his views on China

In addition to titles such as CEO of Tesla, founder of SpaceX, and owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has a new identity: one of the most influential allies of President-elect Donald Trump.

Musk’s relationship with Trump has rapidly become closer during the election season. After Trump survived an assassination attempt in July, Musk officially announced his support for the Republican candidate’s return to the White House. He has spoken at Trump’s campaign rallies multiple times. According to public records from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), as of mid-October, the “America PAC” established by Musk has raised at least $130 million in campaign funds, with nearly $120 million contributed personally by him.

“Let me tell you, we have a new star, a star has been born, Elon,” Trump praised Musk in his election-night speech.

Just days after the election, Musk was actively engaged in the transition affairs of the next U.S. administration. Media reports say that he participated in a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and publicly supported Senator Rick Scott as the Senate Majority Leader to help expedite the appointment process for Trump’s cabinet members.

Whether Musk will hold a position in the new Trump administration or not, his relationship with Trump is likely to continue. This means he will become one of the individuals closest to Trump with connections to China.

China is Tesla’s second-largest market. Over the past two years, Musk has visited China twice and met with senior officials including former Foreign Minister Qin Gang and current Premier Li Qiang.

“Honored to meet with Premier Li Qiang,” Musk wrote in a post on X in April last year. “We have known each other now for many years, since early Shanghai days.”

Li Qiang formerly served as the Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee. Tesla has established its largest assembly plant in Shanghai.

Voice of America has analyzed Musk’s statements from his personal social media accounts, media interviews, and reports, offering insights into the views of this American technology leader and political newcomer on issues related to China.

Admiration for China’s technological achievements

Musk has repeatedly praised China’s achievements in space exploration, infrastructure construction, and renewable energy on social media.

“China’s space program is very impressive,” he wrote in one post.

“The China space program is far more advanced than most people realize,” he said in another post.

In 2021, after China’s Zhurong Mars rover transmitted its first image, he congratulated on Twitter at the time: “Outstanding accomplishment by China!”

Musk has often praised China’s infrastructure construction. He believes that “China’s progress in advanced infrastructure is more than 100 times faster than the U.S.”

“The economic prosperity that China has achieved is truly amazing, especially in infrastructure!” he wrote in a post. “I encourage people to visit and see for themselves.”

In renewable energy, Musk also believes that China has taken “amazing” measures.

“Few seem to realize that China is leading the world in renewable energy generation and electric vehicles,” he wrote on X. “Whatever you may think of China, this is simply a fact.”

In 2022, Musk wrote an article for a magazine under the Office of the Central Cyberspace Administration of China. In the article, he stated that “Chinese companies will be a force to be reckoned with in the cause of energy innovation.”

Musk has also publicly praised China’s WeChat multiple times.

“We don’t have an app as good as WeChat in China. Basically, you can live off WeChat... you do payments you do everything. It’s great... and we don’t have anything like WeChat outside of China.”

Overall, Musk has a relatively high opinion of the Chinese government. After visiting China in 2018, he stated on Twitter that he had “excellent meetings” with senior Chinese leaders. He called these leaders “very thoughtful about the long-term future.”

In 2023, after then-Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Musk, China’s Foreign Ministry released a statement saying Musk expressed that “China’s development achievements are taken for granted.”

“The intertwined interests of the U.S. and China are like conjoined twins, inseparable. Tesla opposes ‘decoupling’ and is willing to continue expanding its business in China and share the opportunities offered by China’s development,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s announcement quoted Musk as saying.

Ambiguous attitude on auto tariffs

The new Trump administration is expected to continue to prioritize trade tariffs against China as one of the most important policies for the next four years. On this score, Musk and Trump may have disagreements. Musk does not agree with Beijing imposing tariffs on imported goods, but he also seems to disagree with Washington retaliating with the same strategy.

In 2018, then President Trump announced on Twitter that China was formulating plans to reduce the trade deficit with the U.S., and Musk publicly replied to him: “An American car going to China pays 25% import duty, but a Chinese car coming to the U.S. only pays 2.5%, a tenfold difference.”

“I am against import duties in general, but the current rules make things very difficult,” he said. “It’s like competing in an Olympic race wearing lead shoes.”

Musk’s stance on whether tariffs should be imposed on cars from China is unclear.

In January of last year, Reuters reported that Musk stated in a conference call that without tariffs and other trade barriers, Chinese cars “would achieve great success overseas.”

“If there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world,” he said.

In May, the Biden administration announced a series of tariffs on Chinese goods, increasing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 25% to 100%. Musk expressed his opposition in response to this adjustment.

“Things that inhibit freedom of exchange or distort the market are not good,” he said. “Tesla competes quite well in the market in China and no deferential support. I’m in favor of no tariffs.”

In September of this year, the Biden administration announced a proposed ban on smart cars containing Chinese hardware and software technology from being sold in the U.S. American news website Axios reported that Musk faces a “trap” on the China issue. The Biden administration’s actions may benefit Tesla in the short term by excluding Chinese electric vehicles from the U.S. market, but Tesla could get harder hit were Beijing to adopt a similar rule.

Controversial remarks on the Taiwan issue

Among Musk’s remarks related to China, the most controversial have been his statements on the Taiwan issue.

Describing himself as an “outsider with a good understanding of China,” Musk stated in a podcast in 2023 that the Taiwan issue is a “fundamental” problem for China. He said that in Beijing’s view Taiwan is China’s equivalent of Hawaii. He added that the reason China has not truly controlled Taiwan is due to long-standing U.S. intervention.

He further stated that in the near future, China’s military strength in the Taiwan Strait will far exceed that of the U.S., and this will make it extremely difficult for the U.S. to protect Taiwan.

“If we interpret China’s policy literally, perhaps we should also understand that China might use force to integrate Taiwan into China,” Musk said. “This is what they are saying, that if there is no diplomatic solution, they will use force.” The then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, Joseph Wu, responded on X to this comment by accusing Musk of standing on the side of an authoritarian government. “Listen up, Taiwan is not part of the PRC and certainly not for sale!”, Wu wrote in response.

In 2022, Musk also made waves with his comments on the Taiwan issue in an interview with the Financial Times.

He suggested that the conflict arising from the Taiwan issue is inevitable. The solution, he proposed, would be for Beijing to take control of Taiwan in a manner similar to how it controls Hong Kong.

“My recommendation... would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy,” he said at the time.

This remark received praise from then Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang.

“I would like to thank Elon Musk for his call for peace across the Taiwan Strait and his idea about establishing a special administrative zone for Taiwan,” Qin Gang wrote on Twitter. “Actually, Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems are our basic principles for resolving the Taiwan question.”

Musk generally maintains a friendly relationship with the Chinese government, but some of his actions have also angered Beijing and resulted in warnings from them.

Angering China over the source of the COVID-19 pandemic

In February 2023, in response to a post questioning whether former U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci had funded the Wuhan Institute of Virology to develop the COVID-19 virus, Musk gave an affirmative answer.

The Global Times, China’s state-run newspaper, immediately published an article condemning Musk’s remarks that was entitled “Musk, Are You Blaming China?”

“Although some may view Musk’s comments as targeting Fauci without explicitly mentioning ‘China,’ the posts he shared and the narratives of the right-wing influencers he amplified largely tie the origins of COVID-19 to China. Moreover, his remarks have been repeatedly used by anti-China U.S. right-wing groups and media as material to accuse China,” the article says.