Elon Musk praised Chinese President Xi Jinping, China’s economic gains, Tesla’s Shanghai operation and the country’s artificial intelligence industry during an interview with Chinese state television as Xi arrived in Washington for a state visit with President Donald Trump.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “great leader” and credited him with overseeing a period of growing prosperity in China during an interview broadcast Wednesday by Chinese state television network CCTV.
The remarks came one day before Xi’s scheduled state visit to the White House, where President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are set to host the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a state dinner Thursday evening. The meeting follows Trump’s May visit to Beijing and marks the second summit between Trump and Xi this year.
“Under his tenure, China has prospered immensely,” Musk said, according to The Independent.
Musk said he believed those economic changes were readily visible inside the country.
“It’s also obvious to see that, just walking around the streets, the increased prosperity of the average Chinese citizen.”
The comments were circulated Wednesday along with clips from the CCTV interview.
Musk’s praise extended beyond Xi to Tesla’s substantial manufacturing presence in China, where the company operates its major Shanghai production facility.
He described employees at the operation as “incredibly talented, hardworking and trustworthy.”
“Tesla’s Shanghai factory is a gem and it’s beautiful, actually, if anyone’s ever been there.”
China remains an important manufacturing and sales market for Tesla, though recent figures show the company facing increasingly intense competition.
Sales of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from Tesla’s Shanghai factory, including exports, increased 3.6% from a year earlier in August to 86,166 vehicles, according to industry data reported by Reuters. That marked a substantial slowdown from the 38% year-over-year increase recorded in July, while August sales declined 7.9% from the previous month.
Tesla’s share of China’s battery-electric vehicle market has also declined as domestic manufacturers have expanded their offerings. Reuters reported that Tesla held 6.6% of China’s battery EV market during the second quarter of 2026, compared with more than 15% in 2020.
Musk nevertheless offered extensive praise for another industry in which China and the United States are competing for technological leadership: artificial intelligence.
“The Chinese AI models are generally outstanding actually. I mean you can see on the sort of intelligence rankings there, especially given the limited amount of compute that the Chinese AI companies have, the performance is excellent. Probably China’s doing by far the best in terms of performance per unit of compute. And as I’ve said publicly, you know, I think China’s going address the compute limitation in, I think, faster than most people expect. My rough guess would be that China addresses the compute constraints with lithography and chip making in about two or three years.”
A separate clip from the interview highlighted Musk’s assessment of Chinese AI companies and his prediction that the country could overcome current limitations in advanced semiconductor manufacturing within several years.
His comments come as Washington and Beijing remain engaged in negotiations touching on artificial intelligence, trade, critical minerals and other strategic technologies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in New York ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting, with the United States proposing a bilateral AI safety notification mechanism. Reuters reported that U.S. officials also discussed trade matters, although high-end AI chip export controls were not part of those negotiations.
Musk’s favorable remarks about China are consistent with years of public comments emphasizing the country’s technological development, manufacturing capabilities and importance to Tesla.
Tesla was among 16 automakers that signed an industry commitment in China in 2023 following an intense electric-vehicle price war. The pledge included language about corporate social responsibility and was widely reported as calling on manufacturers to promote China’s “core socialist values.” The Chinese auto industry group subsequently withdrew the portion dealing with “abnormal pricing” after acknowledging concerns under antitrust law.
Tesla’s Shanghai plant has since become a major part of the company’s international production network, supplying vehicles both within China and to export markets.
The timing of Musk’s CCTV appearance placed his praise of Xi and Chinese technological development immediately ahead of a closely watched White House visit.
Trump originally invited Xi to Washington during a May 14 state banquet in Beijing, setting Sept. 24 for the return visit.
The White House said Xi and Peng would be welcomed with a formal state arrival ceremony Thursday, followed by meetings and a state dinner in the East Room. The three-day visit also includes events involving the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and National Archives.
The Independent reported that Musk is also expected to attend the state dinner.
His CCTV interview therefore comes as the billionaire executive’s extensive commercial interests in China intersect with a renewed round of high-level U.S.-China diplomacy — and as competition between the two countries increasingly focuses not only on trade and electric vehicles, but also on artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductor technology.
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