A video circulating widely on social media captured the moment Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun approached Elon Musk during a state banquet at China’s Great Hall of the People and knelt down to take a selfie with him. The clip spread fast. “Lei Jun and Elon Musk Posing for a Photo” had climbed into the top three trending topics on Weibo, China’s largest social media platform.
The moment carried a certain irony. Lei and Musk are rivals in the electric vehicle space, with Xiaomi having pushed aggressively into the EV market in recent years. But Lei has never hidden his admiration for the American billionaire. He was reportedly one of the first Tesla owners in China, and has publicly praised Musk on multiple occasions over the years.
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Elon Musk’s son unexpectedly gained attention at the China summit, wandering through the Great Hall of the People. His presence provided a stark contrast to the formal atmosphere of high-stakes diplomatic discussions, drawing smiles and interest from attendees and social media users alike. This light-hearted moment showcased a human side amidst serious negotiations involving trade and technology cooperation.
Eye Rolls, Selfies and Beijing Roast Duck
The selfie with Lei was not the only moment from the evening that went viral. During the dinner, which featured Beijing roast duck and beef ribs as part of the spread, Musk was spotted rolling his eyes, pulling faces, and taking selfies with others at the table. Clips of the behavior circulated quickly across social media platforms and drew a predictably wide range of reactions online.
Musk also appeared to be engaging actively with Chinese-speaking users on X, the platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. When one user posted a video of him walking with one of his children on the sidelines of the trip, Musk replied directly in Chinese: “My son is learning Mandarin.”
Why Is Musk in China?
Musk is part of a delegation of prominent American business figures accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to Beijing. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Apple CEO Tim Cook are also among those traveling with the president, according to Reuters.
Trump framed the trip in expansive terms ahead of departure, describing it as “an incredible gathering of the world’s greatest businessmen and women” and saying he planned to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to open China’s market further to American business.
“I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on May 12.
It is not Musk’s first time in China by a long stretch. He visited in 2023 to tour Tesla’s Gigafactory in Shanghai and praised the country’s technological development. China has become one of Tesla’s most critical markets for both sales and manufacturing.
Xi’s Message to American Business
The presence of so many American tech heavyweights at the table appeared to have an effect. Xi told the gathered delegation that China’s “door will only open wider” for American companies, according to state-backed news outlet Xinhua. The Chinese president expressed confidence that U.S. firms would find even broader opportunities in China going forward.
Whether those words translate into concrete policy changes remains to be seen. For now, the image of Musk taking selfies and pulling faces at a Beijing state dinner is doing most of the talking.
