Musk praises China's leadership and pushes for AI regulation ahead of state dinner

By William Gavin

Elon Musk has had a friendly relationship with China, which has proved advantageous for Tesla

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a prominent figure in U.S. President Donald Trump's recent meetings with Chinese leaders.

Elon Musk on Wednesday called for lower tariffs and fewer trade restrictions with China ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. and Chinese leaders.

In an interview with the Chinese state-run China Global Television Network on Wednesday, Musk added that a "really important thing" would be for the U.S. and China to agree to a joint platform for regulating artificial intelligence. Musk, whose companies Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX (SPCX) are heavily investing in AI technology, has joined other leaders in calling for slower AI development.

The interview precedes a planned visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington, D.C., where he's expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a range of issues, including AI. On Thursday, Musk and other major tech executives, including Amazon.com (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, are expected to join the leaders at a state dinner.

Xi's visit follows Trump's trip to Beijing in May, where the leaders met to discuss trade, AI and the conflict in Iran. Trump brought Musk and a few other tech leaders with him aboard Air Force One.

Musk was reportedly interested in unblocking the sale of high-end solar-manufacturing equipment from Suzhou Maxwell Technologies (CN:300751) to Tesla. In March, Reuters reported that Tesla was in talks to buy $2.9 billion worth of equipment from Chinese suppliers including Suzhou Maxwell.

"He seems like a great leader," Musk said of Xi in the CGTN interview. "Under his tenure, China has prospered immensely. He's really done an excellent job."

Musk has been friendly with China for years. Tesla has been allowed to develop and operate Gigafactory Shanghai, which produces the Model 3 and Model Y, without a Chinese partner - a first for a foreign automaker.

China is also a major market for Tesla's electric vehicles. It sold nearly 852,000 Chinese-made Model Y and Model 3 EVs in 2025, down 7% from a year before. But Tesla China's wholesale deliveries are up 25% year-over-year so far in 2026, according to China Passenger Car Association data.

In his interview with CGTN, Musk praised China's manufacturing expertise, calling it responsible for the "magic of Tesla Shanghai."

Musk's endorsement of Chinese manufacturing isn't limited to its automotive sector. The China-based 21st Century Business Herald reported last week that Tesla was auditing robotics suppliers and putting in orders to help it make more Optimus humanoid robots, a product that Musk has repeatedly said could be revolutionary for Tesla.

Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment.

-William Gavin

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09-23-26 1108ET