Elon Musk got some time with China's Premier in a sign that the heat is going out of Trump's trade war
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday.
- Li said he hopes Telsa can be "a promoter of the stability of Chinese-US relations," in a sign that the two countries' trade war may be thawing.
- Tesla kicked off the construction of its new $2 billion Gigafactory in China this week.
Elon Musk is on a charm offensive in China - and his latest meeting may be a sign that trade hostilities between the US and China are thawing.
After beginning construction on Tesla's new $2 billion Gigafactory in China this week, Musk met with Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday in Beijing, at the Great Hall of the People.
The pair posed for photographs and made short press statements as part of the meeting. It came against the backdrop of three days of talks between Washington and Beijing over a trade deal.
There are signs are that negotiators may have reached a preliminary agreement, and Li bolstered this theory by saying that he hopes Tesla can become an "a promoter of the stability of Chinese-US relations."
"We're incredibly excited to break ground on the Shanghai Gigafactory," Musk added.
At the White House, Bloomberg said some advisers are pressing for a speedy end to the trade war to help soothe recent volatility that has gripped markets. US President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday night: "Talks with China are going very well!"
But if hostilities continue, Tesla's new Gigafactory could help the carmaker side-step retaliatory tariffs in Trump's trade war.
Tesla announced in October that it was accelerating construction on the Chinese factory, as tariffs of up to 40% were making it uncompetitive in China, and in November it cut the price of its cars in China to balance out costs to customers.