Opinion | What green light for Tesla says about China’s attitude to foreign investors
- From the Shanghai Gigafactory to Tesla’s autonomous driving plans, China’s encouragement reflects give-and-take and a recognition of the mutual benefits of foreign investment and tech
The deal was a turnaround for Tesla. Its Shanghai factory has become the company’s largest production site, serving both the Chinese and export markets.
Why did Shanghai – and China – make the deal with Tesla and risk the US company posing strong competition to Chinese EV players? Isn’t China, as the Western narrative suggests, keen to protect its domestic companies from foreign competition?
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Elon Musk meets Premier Li Qiang in Beijing amid Tesla bid to promote self-driving tech
Tesla’s Gigafactory started production in December 2019. By 2022, local companies were supplying 95 per cent of the parts needed – a plethora of EV part suppliers had grown up around Tesla, developing into an extensive ecosystem. Similar ecosystems have since come up across the country to service Chinese EV makers.
