President Donald Trump's counselor and economist, Peter Navarro, had criticized Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. (TSLA) last year, calling the company a "car assembler" reliant on overseas parts from China and other countries. Now, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said the country could allow more U.S. investment in China.

Open Criticism

The comments were highlighted by Bloomberg presenter Joumanna Nasr Bercetche on X on Thursday. She shared that Navarro, as well as Trump, had "openly criticized US companies/ executives that were seen to be too close to China," targeting the likes of Tesla, Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).

Xi Jinping Signals Upbeat Tone at Summit

Meanwhile, Xi, during a meeting with U.S. executives, shared that the Chinese domestic market would open up to more investments, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Thursday. "China's door will only open wider," Xi said to the executives, according to the report.

According to a report by Financial Post on Thursday, Musk and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang gave brief remarks to the media, with Musk saying that he hopes to accomplish "many good things" in China, while Huang hailed Xi and Trump.

Trump also cleared the sales of NVIDIA's H200 AI chips to Chinese companies like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) and Tencent Holdings (TCEHY), among others, before an intervention by Beijing that halted deliveries of the chips.

Tesla's China Performance

Tesla recently fell out of the top 10 EV makers in the Chinese domestic market following a poor retail sales run during April. The company was outsold in China by the likes of BYD Co. Ltd. (BYDDY), Nio Inc. (NIO), and more. Tesla also announced it would be offering affordable financing options in the country, as sales fall.

Notably, Tesla manufactures vehicles in China at its Giga Factory in Shanghai, responsible for producing the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV.