Elon Musk asked to boost investment in Shanghai by China’s top party official

Shanghai party chief Chen Jining told Musk the city is keen to deepen cooperation with Tesla on electric vehicles and energy storage, according to a city government statement. Musk said Tesla Inc. hopes to strengthen collaboration with Shanghai and better serve both the Chinese and global markets, the statement said.

Musk departed China on Thursday, wrapping up his first visit to China since the pandemic and topping a whirlwind trip that included a flurry of meetings with senior government officials and a late-night visit to Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory.

The Shanghai plant accounted for more than half of Tesla’s global production in 2022, and the facility can now produce as many as 1.1 million cars a year.

In return, the US automaker contributed almost one-quarter of Shanghai’s total automotive production value last year, and local authorities pledged last month to continue to boost ties with the company through autonomous driving and robot modules.

Chen, who also sits on the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, earlier met with Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. He told Dimon he hopes JPMorgan could help bring more international financial institutions to Shanghai and provide insight to the city’s development, according to the municipal government.

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