Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk poses for a group photo at the Shanghai Gigafactory of the US electric vehicle maker in Shanghai, in this handout image released on June 1, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]
Tesla CEO Elon Musk expressed his confidence in the Chinese market during his two-day visit to China from May 30-31, China Media Group reported on Thursday.
Musk emphasized Tesla’s stance against “decoupling and breaking the chain”, saying the company will continue to expand business in China and share China’s development opportunities, while meeting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
Qin emphasized the importance of a healthy, stable and constructive China-US relationship, comparing developing China-US relations to driving a car.
The driver needs to keep the steering wheel in the right direction, step on the brake when necessary to avoid danger and press the throttle at times to accelerate, Qin said.
In recent months, foreign executives have visited China intensively, which demonstrates their firm confidence in deeply exploring the Chinese market.
China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao met with senior executives of more than a dozen multinational companies, including Nestle, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in late March.
The so-called “decoupling and breaking the chain” is unpopular among CEOs of foreign companies.
In the first four months of this year, China’s actual use of foreign direct investment reached 499.46 billion yuan ($70.2 billion), up 2.2 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.
China will continue to foster a world-class market-based, law-based and international business environment and share the benefits of Chinese market and opening-up with companies from other countries, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.