Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy harshly criticized Elon Musk on Wednesday for his ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Ramaswamy posted a video on Twitter, the social media platform Musk owns, and spoke about Musk’s “concerning” relationship with China. (RELATED: ‘They Can Do It To Anyone’: Vivek Ramaswamy Says LinkedIn Censored Him Over Remarks On Climate, China)
I’m breaking an unspoken rule in the GOP, but I call it like I see it: it’s deeply concerning that @elonmusk met with China’s foreign minister yesterday to oppose decoupling and referred to the U.S. & Communist China as “conjoined twins.” Tesla’s VP in China reposted that… pic.twitter.com/UD26pweilX
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 31, 2023
“I’m breaking an unspoken rule in the GOP, but I call it like I see it: it’s deeply concerning that @elonmusk met with China’s foreign minister yesterday to oppose decoupling and referred to the U.S. & Communist China as ‘conjoined twins.’ Tesla’s VP in China reposted that statement on Weibo in China, but curiously not here in the U.S. In October, Elon issued an unprompted call for ‘reunification’ of Taiwan & won a favorable tax benefit in Shanghai days later,” Ramaswamy tweeted.
The Republican presidential candidate was referring to a Tuesday statement by Chinese officials about a meeting they had with Musk during his first trip to the country in more than three years, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Musk reportedly told the officials he opposes economic “decoupling” between the U.S. and China, likening the two nations to “conjoined twins.”
His position deviates from the growing chorus of Democrats and Republicans who support decoupling, a buzzword for separating the U.S. economy from China’s.
“I’ve been one of the most vocal supporters of Elon’s effort to transform Twitter, but it’s a real risk to the U.S. when the CCP turns our most prominent business leaders & celebrities – Tim Cook, Larry Fink, LeBron James, Elon Musk – into puppets to advance their agenda. That tilts the global scales of perception in China’s favor – and sadly, it’s working. The U.S. needs leaders who aren’t in China’s pocket, yet Biden is just another embodiment of that same problem,” he added in the Tweet.
Ramaswamy emphasized his continued support for Musk’s plan to make Twitter into a free speech platform for users, despite his criticism of Musk’s ties to China. “I really love and respect a lot of what Elon Musk has done with Twitter. He’s trying to take it in the right direction, turning it into a free speech platform. I’ve been a vocal advocate of that,” Ramaswamy said at the start of his video.
The Chinese market is an essential sector for Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, and it’s where the company’s largest manufacturing plant is located. Tesla announced in April a plan to build a second factory in Shanghai, and Musk is expected to visit Tesla’s existing Shanghai factory later this week, The WSJ reported.