Musk Is A Trump Administration Outlier: A China Dove Among Hawks

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Tesla's continued investment in China underscores this dependency. On February 11, 2025, the company opened its second factory in Shanghai - a $200 million plant that is set to produce 10,000 megapack batteries annually. It's the company's first megapack battery factory outside the US. .

This investment deepens Tesla's presence in China amid a new wave of US-China trade tensions. On February 1, the Trump administration imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports , prompting Beijing's retaliation with tariffs on American coal, liquefied natural gas, agricultural equipment and crude oil.

A China fan

It remains unclear to what extent Musk's financial interests in China will translate to real influence over the Trump administration's policy toward Beijing. But Musk's long history of pro-China remarks suggests the direction in which he wants the administration to move.

During his visit to Beijing in April 2024, Musk praised the country , noting also:“I also have a lot of fans in China – well, the feeling is mutual .”

His admiration appears to hinge in part on how he views business and labor practices in China. In that vein, Musk has criticized American workers as lazy and has faced US labor law disputes , while simultaneously praising Chinese workers for“burning the 3 am oil” under an intensely repressive labor system .

In numerous posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, which he owns, Musk has also praised China's infrastructure and high-speed rail system , lauded its space program , applauded its leadership in global green energy initiatives and urged his followers to visit the country .

Musk has also opposed US efforts to decouple from China, describing the countries' economies as“conjoined twins ,” despite the view of a sizable part of the foreign policy establishment in the West that decreasing dependency on China is necessary because of security interests amid rising geopolitical tensions.

On the issue of Taiwan, the most dangerous flashpoint in US-China relations, Musk has compared Taiwan to Hawaii, arguing that it is an integral part of China and noting that the US Pacific Fleet has prevented mainland China from achieving reunification by force .

Musk has suggested further that the Taiwan dispute could be resolved by allowing China to establish Taiwan as a special administrative zone , similar to Hong Kong.

His remarks were shared and welcomed by China's then-ambassador to the U S, who, in a post on X, emphasized China's so-called peaceful unification strategy and advocated for the“one country, two systems” model.

Trump's back-channel envoy?

The big question going forward is how Musk's financial stakes in, and stated admiration for, China will translate into attempts to influence the US administration's China policy, particularly given Musk's unconventional advisory role and the strong faction of anti-China hawks in Trumpworld.

Given Musk's approach to China, it's hard to see him not trying to use his influence with the president to push for somewhat warmer relations with Beijing.

If such counsel were heeded, it's easy to envision Musk leveraging his deep ties to China, particularly his close personal relationship with China's current second-ranking official, Premier Li Qiang , who was the Shanghai party chief when Tesla's factory was built. In the scenario, Donald Trump could tap Musk as a back channel for diplomacy to ease US-China tensions and facilitate bilateral cooperation when needed.

To this point, it was, perhaps, telling that it was Musk who met with China President Xi Jinping's envoy to Trump's inauguration, Vice President Han Zheng, on the eve of the event .

But it's far from certain that Trump wants Musk in that diplomatic role, or that other voices won't win out with regard to Beijing. In his first term, Trump launched an unprecedented trade war and tech blockade against China , fundamentally reshaping US-China relations and pushing the US toward something of a bipartisan consensus to counter Beijing that has existed for several years.