Chinese Ambassador to US Thanks Tesla CEO Elon Musk for His Taiwan-Related Remarks

On October 9, Qin Gang, Chinese Ambassador to the US, posted on Twitter in response to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s Taiwan-related remarks. Qin expressed his gratitude to Musk for his call for peace across the Taiwan Strait.

Qin wrote: “I would like to thank Elon Musk for his call for peace across the Taiwan Strait and his idea about establishing a special administrative zone for Taiwan. Actually, Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems are our basic principles for resolving the Taiwan question and the best approach to realizing national reunification. Provided that China’s sovereignty, security and development interests are guaranteed, after reunification Taiwan will enjoy a high degree of autonomy as a special administrative region, and a vast space for development.”

Qin added: “The rights and interests of the people in Taiwan will be fully protected, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait will share the glory of national rejuvenation. Peaceful reunification of China is also conducive to peace and development in the Asia-Pacific and the wider world.”

The Financial Times previously reported that Elon Musk “put forward suggestions” on solving the Taiwan (China) issue in an interview. “My recommendation… would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy. And it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong,” Musk said.

In March this year, Qin Gang visited Tesla’s US factory and had an in-depth conversation with Musk, covering automobile development, space exploration, human brain research, the significance of life on Earth and the future of mankind in space. Musk accompanied Qin on a Tesla Model S Plaid, about which Qin later posted on social media: “Powerful model, but smooth ride!”

Qin Gang has served as ambassador to the US since 2021. Shortly after he took up his new job, he posted on the social platform that China and the United States have great prospects for cooperation in the field of new energy vehicles. Qin Gang wrote: “President Biden announced half of all new vehicles in the US in 2030 would be electric. I learnt from GM in Shanghai that it would only produce EVs by 2035 within China. By then, China will have 160+million new energy vehicles, up from 6.03 million in 2021. There is great potential for cooperation.”

SEE ALSO: Sept Delivery of Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory Exceeded 83K Units

Tesla’s monthly delivery in China also set a new record. Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the China Passenger Car Association said in an interview with state media outlet CCTV on October 9 that Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory delivered more than 83,000 vehicles. In the first eight months of this year, Tesla’s Shanghai factory sold nearly 400,000 vehicles. With the addition of 83,000 vehicles in September, Tesla’s deliveries in China in the first three quarters of this year are on par with the 480,000 vehicles delivered in the whole of last year. After the completion of the upgrade, the production capacity of Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory has exceeded 750,000 vehicles, making it Tesla’s current gigafactory with the highest capacity.

In August, the localization rate of Tesla’s supply chain in China exceeded 95%. From raw materials to parts, most of them come from Chinese suppliers. Tesla’s components supplied in China include powertrain systems, electric drive systems, charging systems, chassis, car bodies and others.