China’s envoy Han Zheng met with Elon Musk and JD Vance ahead of Trump’s inauguration, discussing trade and investment.
Musk is a big deal in China since he makes Teslas there, and it seems like Beijing thinks he could help bridge the gap with the new U.S. administration. They had a chat about trade and investment, which is pretty crucial given the current tensions.
This meeting was a big deal because it was the highest-level contact between China and the U.S. since Trump got elected. Han even had a separate sit-down with Musk, which shows how much importance they place on him.
Analysts say Musk is seen as a more friendly figure compared to some of Trump’s advisors who are tough on China. He’s got a lot of business ties there, especially with Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai.
Musk has been in and out of China, meeting with top officials, and he’s even spoken out against the TikTok ban in the U.S. He thinks it’s unfair that TikTok can operate in America while his platform, X, can’t in China.
While Trump has hinted at tougher sanctions on China, he also had a phone call with Xi where they talked about trade and other issues. Even though Xi didn’t show up to the inauguration, sending Han might mean he’s open to working with Trump to avoid a trade war. It’s all pretty interesting, right?
