The billionaire said this during a meeting with Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) on Sunday.

In a video not widely shared on Twitter, Musk was heard saying, "I'm a big fan of China. I have to say this."

"I have a lot of fans in China too, so the feelings are mutual," he said.

Musk made an "unannounced and surprise" visit to Beijing on Sunday, where he also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

"We have known each other for many years, since the early days in Shanghai," Musk said in a post on X.com along with a photo with Qiang.

CCTV News quoted Premier Li Qiang as saying, "Tesla's business in China is a successful example of Sino-US economic and trade cooperation."

Praising the hard work and intelligence of the Chinese, Musk said: “Tesla's Shangha Gigafactory is the company's best-performing factory. "Tesla is willing to further deepen cooperation with the Chinese side to achieve more beneficial results."

Meanwhile, Musk's visit has also raised hopes of bringing Tesla's Autopilot Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology to China, considered the electric vehicle maker's second-largest market.

Musk and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were expected to visit India earlier this month.

However, the tech billionaire canceled the plan amid critical Tesla quarterly results and will likely visit the country later this year to announce higher investment plans.

When a user asked "Why didn't he come to India earlier?" Musk responded, "I meet with more foreign leaders than my current president."