Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House’s Oval Office.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives’ select committee on China warned on Tuesday that Beijing may try to exert leverage with Elon Musk in a bid to win favorable U.S. policies, and that Washington must counter any such effort.
Republican committee chair John Moolenaar and Democratic ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi said they believed the Chinese Communist Party wants to use U.S. business leaders including Musk, who have commercial interests in China, to advance its goals in talks with Washington.
“To the question of Elon Musk, I do believe that the CCP will try and leverage any opportunity,” Moolenaar told an event hosted by the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington.
“Are people going to be looking for that and make sure that his lane is one that is not influencing China policy? I believe that is the case,” Moolenaar said, when asked whether Congress has a role in preventing Beijing from negotiating with the White House through Musk.
Musk and the White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment. China’s Washington embassy said China welcomed “mutually beneficial cooperation” with “people from all walks of life in the United States.”
“We are happy to see foreign-funded enterprises invest and start businesses in China, deepen their presence in the Chinese market and share development opportunities,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said by email.
China has some pressing priorities. Just over a month into his second term, President Donald Trump has announced additional 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, called for greater restrictions on Chinese investment in the U.S., and named China hardliners to key posts.
Musk, the world’s richest man and among Trump’s biggest donors in the 2024 election, could be attractive to Beijing as a potential conduit to Trump because he has become one of the president’s closest White House advisers.
Trump named Musk to lead an effort to radically downsize the federal government.
The billionaire also for years has had contact with senior Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping.
China may also be able to grant Musk things that he wants. His biggest business interest in China is electric car company Tesla, which he leads as CEO. Tesla delivered 36.7% of its cars to customers in China last year, its second-largest market worldwide based on sales.
But Tesla’s market share has declined in China as domestic electric vehicle makers have grown, and it has faced regulatory roadblocks to the rollout of its self-driving features there that could boost sales while regulators have allowed Chinese firms to move ahead.
Apart from Tesla, some of Musk’s other ventures, including commercial rocket and satellite firm SpaceX and social media platform X – the latter is banned in China – are viewed by Beijing as security risks.
Circumventing China hawks
Krishnamoorthi told the Brookings event that Beijing viewed Musk as way to circumvent China hawks on Trump’s national security team, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.
“They absolutely see him as an asset to them in any kind of negotiations, a way to bypass Rubio, a way to bypass Waltz, a way to bypass those whom they see to be less friendly to them on their issues,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“My hope is that the president is going to be listening to everybody very carefully,” he said.
The lawmakers did not detail the evidence supporting their views.
The White House has said Musk has no decision-making authority in the Trump administration and his efficiency initiative has no direct involvement in U.S. foreign policy.
Trump’s praise for Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have stoked concerns that he might pursue a grand bargain with Beijing that sidelines Taiwan. China claims the island as its territory, and Taipei has historically counted on Washington as its most important backer, a major irritant to China.
Krishnamoorthi said he worried Trump could put core U.S. interests, such as support for Taiwan or freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, up for negotiation in any direct talks with Xi to achieve wins on trade.
Moolenaar said he had confidence in Trump’s national security team, but also “limited hopes” for what talks with China might achieve given Beijing’s failure to live up to past promises.
