The Chinese Vice President calls on American companies to strengthen relations with Beijing

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng urged American companies to seize the opportunity to deepen economic ties with China, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

The agency reported that Han, who is in the United States to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, met with American billionaire Elon Musk and representatives of other American business companies on Sunday.

Mask’s popularity in China

Musk, the richest person in the world and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the majority owner of the X platform, has become one of Trump’s closest allies, contributing millions of dollars in contributions to support his presidential campaign.

Musk is widely popular in China, a major market for Tesla, as the company owns one of its giant factories and competes with fast-growing local manufacturers.

Speaking to Musk, Han urged Tesla and other American companies to seize the opportunity and participate in reaping the fruits of China’s development, and make new and greater contributions to enhancing economic and trade relations between China and the United States, according to Xinhua.

Deepening investment cooperation

Musk said Tesla is keen to deepen investment cooperation with China, as well as play an active role in trade between the two countries, according to Xinhua.

In his election campaign, Trump threatened China and other US trading partners with new tariffs, but he also said he was open to talks with President Xi Jinping.

The two leaders spoke by phone on Friday and pledged to improve relations between the rival countries.

On Sunday, Han also met with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, according to Xinhua.