Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to Elon Musk’s statement where he called Taiwan an “integral part of China.”
Musk made these remarks during a remote talk at the All-in Summit in Los Angeles.
He compared Taiwan’s relationship with China to Hawaii’s relationship with the United States.
He said that Beijing’s policy is to reunite Taiwan with China.
He mentioned that it might be similar to Hawaii being a part of the United States, even though it’s geographically distant.
Taiwan is a democratic island, and China has always claimed it as part of its territory, even though it has never been under its control.
In contrast, Hawaii has been an official U.S. state since 1959.
“[Beijing’s] policy has been to sort of reunite Taiwan with China,” said the Tesla (TSLA) CEO, who claimed he understands China “well.”
“From their standpoint, you know, maybe it’s analogous to like Hawaii or something like that, like an integral part of China that is arbitrarily not part of China mostly because … the US Pacific Fleet has stopped any sort of reunification effort by force.”
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, responded to Musk’s statement on a social media platform called X (formerly known as Twitter).
He emphasized that Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and is certainly not for sale. He also hoped that Musk could ask the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to allow X to be accessible to its people.
China has blocked X and other Western social media platforms for a long time.
Musk’s comments came in the context of discussing the challenges faced by American businesses in China.
He mentioned that he has met with Chinese leaders at various levels due to his business interests in the country, giving him what he believes is a good understanding of China.
Musk visited China earlier in the year, meeting government officials and visiting Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai.
He also announced plans for a new battery factory in the city.
He has been praising Tesla vehicles made in Shanghai for their efficiency and quality.
Despite some challenges, Tesla relies heavily on China, with more than half of its global sales coming from the Shanghai facility.
Musk opposes the idea of a U.S.-China separation and believes that the interests of both countries are deeply connected.
While Tesla is popular in China, it has faced occasional issues, including some government ministries banning its vehicles over security concerns.
The company has also reduced car prices in China multiple times this year, sparking price competition in the industry, where it competes with market leader BYD.
In Taiwan, Tesla has a sales and charging network, showing its presence in the region.
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