Elon Musk holds an oversized affect within the new Trump management.
As head of his Division of Executive Potency, or DOGE, the sector’s wealthiest guy has loved just about unfettered political energy in slashing and refashioning the government as he sees have compatibility. And it has briefly develop into transparent that he has the president’s ear on problems past that temporary.
However on one subject, Musk stands quite except others within the coterie of aides and advisers round Trump: China. By contrast to the various hawks within the new Trump cupboard who name for a hard-line way on China, Musk is a putting outlier.
As knowledgeable on China-U.S. members of the family who has monitored Musk’s perspectives on China, I don’t in finding his lengthy historical past of espousing pro-Chinese language sentiment unexpected, for the reason that he has sought all the way through to get a trade cling within the nation.
However the ones entanglements are value scrutiny, given Musk’s function within the Trump management at a time when certainly one of The us’s largest overseas coverage demanding situations is how you can arrange its courting with Beijing.
Musk’s adventure to the East
For years, Musk has had important trade pursuits in China, with Tesla’s Shanghai manufacturing facility, Tesla Giga Shanghai, enjoying a the most important function within the corporate’s international operations.
Since its opening in 2019, the Shanghai plant has surpassed Tesla’s Fremont, California, facility in each measurement and productiveness, now accounting for greater than part of the corporate’s international deliveries and a majority of its earnings. Additionally, just about 40% of Tesla’s battery provide chain depends on Chinese language firms, and those partnerships proceed to increase.
Elon Musk walks with Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong all over the groundbreaking rite for a Tesla manufacturing facility in Shanghai on Jan. 7, 2019.
STR/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Significantly, Tesla was once the primary overseas automaker authorized to ascertain operations in China with no native spouse, following a metamorphosis in possession laws. The Shanghai manufacturing facility was once built with the make stronger of US$1.4 billion in loans from Chinese language state-owned banks, granted at favorable rates of interest.
Between 2019 and 2023, the Shanghai executive additionally supplied Tesla with a discounted company tax price of 15% – 10 share issues not up to the usual price.
The associated fee benefits of producing in Shanghai, which come with decrease manufacturing and exertions bills, have additional cemented Tesla’s reliance at the Chinese language marketplace.
For the reason that Musk’s wealth is in large part tied to Tesla inventory, his monetary status is an increasing number of dependent at the corporate’s fortunes in China, making any attainable disengagement from the rustic each economically and strategically difficult.
Tesla’s persisted funding in China underscores this dependency. On Feb. 11, 2025, the corporate opened its moment manufacturing facility in Shanghai — a $200 million plant this is set to provide 10,000 megapack batteries yearly. It’s the corporate’s first megapack battery manufacturing facility outdoor the U.S..
This funding deepens Tesla’s presence in China amid a brand new wave of U.S.-China industry tensions. On Feb. 1, the Trump management imposed a ten% tariff on Chinese language imports, prompting Beijing’s retaliation with price lists on American coal, liquefied herbal gasoline, agricultural apparatus and crude oil.
A Chinese language fan
It stays unclear to what extent Musk’s monetary pursuits in China will translate to actual affect over the Trump management’s coverage towards Beijing. However Musk’s lengthy historical past of pro-China remarks suggests the course he needs the management to transport.
All the way through his talk over with to Beijing in April 2024, Musk praised the rustic, noting additionally: “I also have a lot of fans in China – well, the feeling is mutual.”
His admiration seems to hinge partly on how he perspectives trade and exertions practices in China. In that vein, Musk has criticized American employees as lazy and has confronted U.S. exertions regulation disputes, whilst concurrently praising Chinese language employees for “burning the 3 a.m. oil” below an intensely repressive exertions device.
In a lot of posts at the social media platform X, previously Twitter, which he owns, Musk has additionally praised China’s infrastructure and high-speed rail device, lauded its area program, applauded its management in international inexperienced power tasks and advised his fans to talk over with the rustic.
Musk has additionally adverse U.S. efforts to decouple from China, describing the international locations’ economies as “conjoined twins,” in spite of a large a part of the overseas coverage status quo within the West viewing diminished dependency on China as essential for safety pursuits amid emerging geopolitical tensions.
At the factor of Taiwan, probably the most unhealthy flashpoint in U.S.-China members of the family, Musk has when compared Taiwan to Hawaii, arguing that it’s an integral a part of China and noting that the U.S. Pacific Fleet has averted mainland China from reaching reunification by way of drive.
Musk additional advised that the Taiwan dispute might be resolved by way of permitting China to ascertain Taiwan as a distinct administrative zone, very similar to Hong Kong.
His remarks had been shared and welcomed by way of China’s then-ambassador to the U.S., who, in a publish on X, emphasised China’s so-called non violent unification technique and advocated for the “one country, two systems” style.
Trump’s back-channel envoy?
The large query going ahead is how Musk’s monetary stakes in, and said admiration for, China will translate into makes an attempt to steer the U.S. management’s China coverage, specifically given Musk’s unconventional advisory function and the sturdy faction of anti-China hawks in Trumpworld.
Given Musk’s technique to China, it’s challenging to look him no longer attempting to make use of his affect with the president to push for quite hotter members of the family with Beijing.
If such recommend had been heeded, it’s simple to ascertain Musk leveraging his deep ties to China, specifically his shut private courting with China’s present second-ranking authentic, Premier Li Qiang, who was once the Shanghai birthday celebration leader when Tesla’s manufacturing facility was once constructed. Within the situation, Donald Trump may just faucet Musk as a again channel for international relations to ease U.S.-China tensions and facilitate bilateral cooperation when wanted.
So far, it was once, in all probability, telling that it was once Musk who met with China President Xi Jinping’s envoy to Trump’s inauguration, Vice President Han Zheng, at the eve of the development.
But it surely’s a long way from positive that Trump needs that diplomatic function for Musk, or that different voices received’t win out with reference to Beijing. In his first time period, Trump introduced an exceptional industry conflict and tech blockade in opposition to China, essentially reshaping U.S.-China members of the family and pushing the U.S. towards one thing of a bipartisan consensus to counter Beijing that has existed for a number of years.
Trump’s tariff strikes and second-term selections for most sensible industry and trade roles, like Peter Navarro and Jamieson Greer — who performed key roles within the industry conflict in opposition to China all over the president’s first time period — recommend that Trump’s dedication to additional decoupling from China stays sturdy.
Moreover, Musk’s trade pursuits and private wealth tied to China may just depart him at risk of Chinese language affect. Through leaning on Musk’s shut ties with Trump, China may just use his dependence at the Chinese language marketplace as a bargaining chip to drive Trump into making concessions on problems with primary strategic significance to Beijing.
China has a historical past of coercing overseas firms reliant on its marketplace into making compromises on issues regarding its nationwide pursuits. For example, Apple got rid of digital non-public community apps from its app retailer in China on the executive’s request. In a similar fashion, Tesla may just face similar drive sooner or later if Beijing needs to make use of Musk as a cudgel to steer coverage within the Trump management. Significantly, as the top of DOGE, with get entry to to delicate knowledge from more than one companies, Musk may just in finding himself stuck between U.S. safety scrutiny and China’s strategic concentrated on.
As long as Musk keeps the affect with Trump that he holds now, it’s possible that his pro-China sentiments will translate into makes an attempt to steer executive coverage. But even supposing that is to be the case, whether or not the ones efforts be triumphant relies on the president and his different advisers, a lot of whom are in quest of an competitive entrance in opposition to Beijing and are prone to view Musk as an obstacle slightly than best friend in that battle to return.
