He is a “pioneer” or “Brother Ma” and some want him to become the President of the United States. South African billionaire Elon Musk received a royal welcome from the Chinese public as well as the communist government upon his arrival in the country, Reuters reports.

After landing in Beijing on Tuesday, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter met with China’s foreign, trade and industry ministers and had dinner with Zeng Yuqun, chairman of electric battery maker CATL 300750.

Although the official talks took place behind closed doors, and China’s Ministry of Industry said only that his boss and Musk exchanged views on the development of electric cars, this did not stop the huge stir on Chinese social media caused by the billionaire’s visit.

“He’s a global idol,” one user commented. “Elon Musk is simply awesome, it’s a shame there’s no one like Elon Musk in China,” added another.

Elon Musk, unexpected visit to China

Musk’s unannounced visit to China, his first in 3 years, is just the latest trip by a high-ranking US CEO since the communist government abandoned its “Zero Covid” policy and decided to reopen its borders following unprecedented protests that erupted late last year over draconian activities which remained in place for almost 3 years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China in March, and Jamie Dimon and Laxman Narasimhan, the heads of JPMorgan Chase and Starbucks, are in the country this week.

But while the two’s visits went largely unnoticed, Musk’s arrival in the country has become the most talked about topic on Chinese social media, despite recent tensions between Washington and Beijing, and between the billionaire and the communist government.

According to photos that have surfaced on social media, even the menu for the 16-course dinner that Musk prepared with Zeng Yuqun at the luxury restaurant Fu Yan praised the South African billionaire.

Illustrated with two horses facing each other, a reference to Musk’s Chinese name, the menu describes Tesla as a “dark horse” (not meaning “outsider”) that “stands out from traditional car companies.”

The South African billionaire is unusually “quiet” during a visit to the communist country

But unlike the “storm” he unleashed on China’s social networks and the waves he often causes on Twitter with his posts, Musk has so far made no public comments during his visit to the communist country.

The Twitter social network, which Musk officially acquired at the end of October last year, is blocked in China.

But while his plane was en route to China, the billionaire tweeted about progress being made in Beijing’s space program, which hopes to land a human crew on the moon by 2030. – emphasized Musk.

After his arrival, China’s foreign ministry quoted the billionaire as saying that the economies of China and the United States are like “Siamese twins” and that he opposes their separation.

Musk wants to force Tesla to expand in China

Musk’s first visit to China after a three-year hiatus comes as Tesla faces growing competition from local electric car makers and some uncertainty about expanding its operations in Shanghai.

Tesla’s Giga factory in China produced more than 700,000 Model Y and Model 3 vehicles last year, more than half of the total number of electric vehicles the Musk-led company will produce in 2022, a year with record profits.

Chinese state media announced last month that Tesla will build a new factory in Shanghai to produce Megapack batteries. According to state news agency Xinhua, Tesla plans for the plant to initially produce 10,000 Megapack units per year, equivalent to about 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, to be sold around the world.

“Tesla continues to aggressively focus on expanding” its presence in China, “which remains the hen that lays the golden eggs,” according to an analysis published by investment firm Wedbush Securities.