Ni Hao, Comrade: Elon Musk Stars in Chinese Embassy Event on Space Exploration

A recent Chinese embassy event focused on the future of space exploration heavily featured Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk who has dramatically increased his production of electric vehicles in the communist country.

The South China Morning Post reports that Elon Musk was a key feature of a recent event at Beijing’s embassy in Washington DC on Saturday that focused on space exploration. Musk reportedly pre-recorded a segment about space travel which was played on three large screens to an audience of schoolchildren, their parents and teachers, embassy staff, and journalists.

Elon Musk watches SpaceX launch (Joe Raedle /Getty)

In the segment, Musk states: “I look forward to humanity working together to form self-sustaining civilization on Mars and other planets.” The inclusion of Musk in the event comes after Beijing accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space last year over two “close encounters” between China’s space station and satellites operated by SpaceX.

Musk has spent a significant amount of time in recent years cozying up to China after opening two Tesla factories in the country. Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer described Musk’s relationship with the communist country in his new book Red-Handed, noting that Musk initially stated he would not be opening production facilities in the country:

Then Beijing rolled out the red carpet: Chinese government–backed banks coughed up $1.6 billion in subsidized loans. And the regulatory red tape to build in China was eliminated by government authorities. “What surprised me is how little time it took for the regulatory process to get approved by the Chinese government,” explained Ivan Su, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. The enormous plant was built in less than a year.

Musk arrived in the country for the groundbreaking ceremony and met with top-ranking officials. Two days later, he was meeting with Vice Premier Li Keqiang in the private compound reserved for high- ranking visitors. “I love China very much and I am willing to come here more,” Musk reportedly told Li. The vice premier offered to make him a permanent resident in the country.

Read more at the South China Morning Post here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address [email protected]

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