Photo: REUTERS/Aly Song
Is Elon Musk only interested in maintaining economic contacts – or is the Tesla and Twitter boss now also developing a preference for foreign policy? The multi-manager has arrived in Beijing for a visit to China. In the Chinese capital, Musk was received by Foreign Minister Qin Gang. After the meeting, China's top diplomat said the tense relations between the U.S. and China would require "mutual respect."
Relations between the two powers have been crunching for months. Above all, the dispute over Chinese balloons in US airspace is putting a huge strain on the relationship between Washington and Beijing. Added to this is China's support for Russia's warfare in Ukraine.
However, Foreign Minister Qin Gang used Musk's visit to strike a more conciliatory tone: "We must steer the wheel in the right direction of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation." However, he did not say exactly how relations could be improved. M
»Some Barriers in China«
Official statements from Elon Musk about the visit have not yet been announced. Musk's Twitter account also contains no references to the meeting with China's foreign minister or the Beijing trip. It is known that the Tesla boss is currently seeking backing from the Chinese leadership for a further expansion of his e-car factory in Shanghai. China is currently the second most important sales market for Tesla after the USA.
Actually, the carmaker wanted to expand production in Shanghai to 450,000 vehicles per year. So far, however, this mark has not been reached. There are "some barriers to our expansion capabilities in China," Musk said in a TV interview a few days ago. However, the problems have nothing to do with a lack of demand. In the same interview, Musk also said that tensions between China and the U.S. should "be a concern for everyone."
dpa/Reuters