U.S. Congress warns that Beijing may leverage Musk to influence Trump, according to Reuters.

This was reported by Reuters, as conveyed by Ukrinform.

The head of the committee, Republican John Moolenaar, and his deputy, Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, stated at an event organized by the Brookings Institution in Washington that the Chinese authorities want to leverage U.S. business leaders, including Musk, who have commercial interests in China, to achieve their goals in negotiations with Washington.

“As for Elon Musk, I believe the Chinese Communist Party will try to take any opportunity,” Moolenaar said.

According to him, Congress will take measures to prevent Beijing from negotiating with the White House through Musk or other American businessmen.

On the other hand, Krishnamoorthi mentioned that Beijing sees Musk as a way to bypass the Chinese "hawks" on Trump’s national security team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.

“They see him (Musk – ed.) as an asset in any negotiations, a way to bypass Rubio, a way to bypass Waltz, a way to bypass those they consider less friendly to China,” Krishnamoorthi said.

At the same time, the lawmakers did not provide any evidence or facts to support their suspicions.

Musk and the White House did not respond to Reuters' requests for comments, while the Chinese embassy in Washington stated that China welcomes mutually beneficial cooperation with people from all walks of life in the United States.

“We are pleased to see foreign companies investing and opening businesses in China, deepening their presence in the Chinese market and sharing development opportunities,” said embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu.

Musk, the richest person in the world and one of Trump's largest donors for the 2024 election, may be of interest to Beijing as a potential channel for communication and influence on the U.S. president, as he has become one of his closest advisors in the White House.

The billionaire has maintained contacts with top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, for years.

Musk's biggest business interest in China is the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, which last year delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in China, its second-largest market in the world by sales volume.

However, in recent years, Tesla has been losing ground in China due to intense competition from local electric vehicle manufacturers, who are rapidly increasing sales, and discriminatory market regulations that prevent Tesla from installing autonomous driving features in its cars that could boost sales, while Chinese automakers have received such permission.

Therefore, Congress speculates that the Chinese government may offer Musk what he wants in exchange for assistance in contacts with Trump, as noted in the publication.

As reported by Ukrinform, Tesla’s design director David Imai officially left his position to join the electric boat manufacturer Arc Boats.

Photo: Bloomberg