Elon Musk’s visit to China should send a shiver down the spines of Western governments

He’s the highest-profile business figure in the world, and he’s also American – in the context of US-China relations at the moment, that matters a lot, writes Chris Blackhurst

Musk has valuable interests in China that require nurturing and protecting (AP)

It says much about the status of Elon Musk that his private jet is constantly tracked – and when it left Alaska, heading for China with him on board, there was a veritable frenzy of speculation about his intentions.

The Tesla and Twitter owner was indeed flying to Beijing for his first visit to the superpower in three years. Again, the trip is being reported in the sort of terms afforded to a high-level diplomatic mission.

It’s no exaggeration, though, to say that Musk’s appearance in China is diplomatically significant. He may no longer be the world’s richest man – that title now belongs to Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods magnate – but Musk is right up there still, and he can certainly lay claim to being the highest-profile business figure in the world at the moment. He’s also American, and in the context of US-China relations being at a particularly low ebb at present, that matters a lot.