Han Zheng, China's vice president, met with U.S. Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk in the United States. Han is on a visit to the U.S. to attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 20th, Han met with Vice President-elect Vance in Washington on the 19th local time to congratulate him on his election and to convey President Xi's regards to Trump.
At this meeting, Han noted, "Recently, President Xi and President-elect Trump had an important currency, and reached significant agreements regarding the future development of Sino-U.S. relations," adding, "China wants to promote stable, healthy, and sustainable development of Sino-U.S. relations." Earlier, on the 17th, President-elect Trump and President Xi established a consensus on the need for dialogue and cooperation between the two countries through a phone call.
Han mentioned, "Both countries are great nations, and their people are also great people," stating that "although there are disputes and friction in the area of mutual interests such as economic and trade relations, there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries." They reportedly discussed issues such as synthetic narcotics like fentanyl, trade balance, and regional stability.
Han also met with CEO Musk. He told CEO Musk that he welcomes U.S. corporations, including Tesla, to seize opportunities to share the achievements of China's development and make significant contributions to enhancing Sino-U.S. trade relations. In response, CEO Musk said, "Tesla hopes to strengthen investment cooperation with China and will actively play a role in facilitating U.S.-China economic and trade exchanges."
Meanwhile, Han will attend President-elect Trump's inauguration ceremony in Washington on the 20th. He mainly serves as an assistant to President Xi in diplomatic and institutional sector matters, attending official ceremonies on behalf of the president.