According to two sources with knowledge of the trip’s preparations, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is seeking a meeting with China’s Premier Li Qiang and is considering visiting China as early as April.
Requests for response from Tesla and the China State Council Information Office were not immediately fulfilled.
After the United States, China is Tesla’s second-largest market, and its Shanghai facility serves as the company’s main production base.
Musk’s trip to China would be his first since the Covid-19 pandemic and Xi Jinping’s election to a third term as leader of the country.
Musk’s trip would be his first to China following the COVID-19 pandemic and Xi Jinping’s election to a third term as China’s leader.
Before to taking office as prime minister in March, Li was Shanghai’s party secretary, where he oversaw the establishment of the Tesla factory.
Musk’s most recent trip to China took place in the beginning of 2020, when he caused a stir online by dancing on stage at a Shanghai factory event.
Nevertheless he has continued to give online addresses at conferences like the World Internet Conference in China.
During the 2019 Shanghai factory opening, Li and Musk already had a chance encounter.
They took engaged in online meetings in 2020 where Musk expressed his gratitude to the former Shanghai Party Secretary for assisting the plant’s operations during the pandemic.
Musk’s scheduled trip coincides with China’s efforts to entice more foreign investment to support its economy, which has been pummelling by three years of COVID restraints.
Li has been leading that effort, appearing over the last week at professional gatherings attended by people like Tim Cook of Apple Inc. and Albert Bourla of Pfizer.
