No American business leader has more visibly and lavishly supported President-elect Donald J. Trump than Elon Musk — and few if any have a more complex relationship with China, a country that Mr. Trump has vowed to confront with higher tariffs and other measures.

没有一位美国商界领袖比埃隆·马斯克更公开、更慷慨地支持候任总统特朗普，也很少有人比他与中国的关系更加复杂。而特朗普誓言要以更高的关税和其他措施来对付中国。

Mr. Musk has a lot on the line. His best-known company, the electric vehicle maker Tesla, makes half its cars in China. Tesla sells more cars in China than anywhere except the United States, and his local competition is getting stronger. Chinese regulators have not yet allowed Tesla to offer its latest assisted-driving and self-driving car technology, while allowing Chinese automakers to race ahead with similar systems.

马斯克在中国押注很大。他旗下最著名的公司——电动汽车制造商特斯拉一半的汽车是在中国生产的。特斯拉在中国的汽车销量超过美国以外的任何地区，而他在中国面对的竞争也越来越激烈。中国监管机构尚未允许特斯拉应用其最新的辅助驾驶和自动驾驶汽车技术，同时允许中国汽车制造商在类似系统上先行一步。

Mr. Musk has personally appealed to China’s premier, Li Qiang, for permission to proceed with what Tesla calls Full Self-Driving as the company’s market share in China has dwindled. Some experts have suggested that Beijing may be able to turn Mr. Musk into an influential ally in trying to persuade Mr. Trump to take a more conciliatory approach on trade.

随着特斯拉在中国的市场份额下降，马斯克曾亲自向中国总理李强请求允许继续推进所谓的“全自动驾驶”项目。一些专家表示，北京可能会把马斯克变成一个有影响力的盟友，以说服特朗普在贸易问题上采取更为温和的态度。

“When Chinese leaders have an important message to convey to President Trump, Elon Musk would clearly be the best conduit,” said Michael Dunne, a longtime China automotive consultant now based in San Diego.

“当中国领导人需要向特朗普总统传达重要信息时，马斯克显然是最好的沟通渠道。”现居圣地亚哥、长期从事中国汽车咨询工作的迈克尔·邓恩表示。

武汉街头的自动驾驶汽车，摄于今年5月。中国监管机构对特斯拉的自动驾驶技术施加限制，让本土汽车制造商抢占先机。

Competition from China is getting tougher.

来自中国的竞争愈发激烈。

Many of Mr. Musk’s other companies, including his ventures in solar energy and large batteries, face formidable competition from Chinese businesses. Some of his businesses might benefit from a decoupling of the Chinese and American economies. Steep tariffs, initially imposed by Mr. Trump in his first term and increased by President Biden, have stopped a push by Chinese automakers into the American market.

马斯克拥有的许多其他公司，包括他在太阳能和大型电池领域的投资，都面临着来自中国企业的激烈竞争。他的一些业务可能会从中美经济脱钩中受益。最初由特朗普在第一个任期内实施、后来又被拜登总统提高的关税阻止了中国汽车制造商进入美国市场。

“Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other companies in the world,” Mr. Musk said on a Tesla earnings call in January.

“坦率地说，我认为如果不建立贸易壁垒，他们几乎会摧毁世界上大多数公司。”马斯克在1月的特斯拉财报电话会议上说。

Practically all of Mr. Musk’s rivals in Silicon Valley and Seattle have focused on digital technologies, but Mr. Musk has built factories in high-tech manufacturing industries.

马斯克在硅谷和西雅图的所有竞争对手几乎都专注于数字科技，而马斯克却在建设高科技制造业的工厂。

Mr. Musk is competing in global industries that the Chinese government finances heavily — not only electric vehicles but also batteries, solar energy and space launches. China’s state-controlled banking system ramped up net lending to industry to $670 billion last year from $83 billion in 2019.

马斯克正在中国政府大力资助的全球性产业大力竞争，不仅包括电动汽车，还包括电池、太阳能和航天发射。中国国有银行系统对工业的净贷款从2019年的830亿美元增加到去年的6700亿美元。

加州巴斯托的特斯拉超级充电站。特斯拉还从中国进口电动汽车电池组到美国。

“In just about every area where his companies focus, there are many Chinese competitors,” said Scott Kennedy, a Chinese business and economics specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “He is basically in industries where the Chinese are the opponents as opposed to his partners.”

“几乎在马斯克的公司关注的每一个领域，都有许多中国竞争对手，”位于华盛顿的战略与国际研究中心中国商业和经济专家斯科特·肯尼迪表示。“在他所涉足的这些行业里，中国人基本上都是对手，而不是合作伙伴。”

Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, which tested its giant Starship on Tuesday with Mr. Trump among the guests, faces emerging rivalries with state-linked Chinese companies that also want to offer launches. Tesla Energy produces large battery packs used by electricity grids for energy storage in combination with solar or wind power, in a growing market otherwise dominated by China.

马斯克的火箭公司SpaceX周二对大型火箭“星舰”(Starship)进行了测试，特朗普也在观摩嘉宾之列。特斯拉能源公司(Tesla Energy)生产大型电池组，电网将其与太阳能或风能结合进行储能，而这个不断增长的市场则由中国主导。

China is now the world’s main supplier of solar panels, but Tesla Energy, in partnership with Qcells of South Korea, still has a foothold in that sector. And at a time when China produces most of the world’s giant tunneling machines for the construction of subways, water systems and military bases, Mr. Musk has established his own Boring Company in southern Texas.

中国目前是世界上太阳能电池板的主要供应国，但特斯拉能源公司与韩国Qcells公司合作，仍然得以在这一领域占有一席之地。在中国生产世界上大部分用于修建地铁、供水系统和军事基地的巨型掘进机的时候，马斯克则在得克萨斯州南部设立了自己的“无聊公司”。

沈阳一家生产超大型隧道掘进机的工厂，这也是马斯克旗下公司刚开始涉足、参与竞争的行业。

Tesla is still waiting on approval for full self-driving.

特斯拉仍在等待全面自动驾驶获得批准。

Mr. Musk faces tough competition from China in most of his businesses, but the electric car sector is more complicated.

马斯克的大多数业务都面临着来自中国的激烈竞争，但电动汽车行业的情况尤为复杂。

In addition to being a critical consumer market for Tesla, China is home to the company’s biggest single assembly plant, built in less than a year.

中国不仅是特斯拉的重要消费市场，也是该公司最大单个装配厂的所在地，该厂在不到一年的时间里便建成了。

That factory, in Shanghai, also supplies much of the European market after the company encountered political obstacles and even arson at its factory in Germany. Tesla has also imported electric car battery packs from China to the United States to supplement its own production in Nevada.

在特斯拉位于德国的工厂遭遇政治障碍甚至遭到纵火后，这家位于上海的工厂还为欧洲市场提供大部分产品。特斯拉还从中国向美国进口电动汽车电池组，以补充其在内华达州的生产。

Chinese regulators have not yet allowed Tesla to introduce Full Self-Driving on Chinese roads. But numerous Chinese companies, including Nio, Huawei and Baidu, have been allowed to introduce similar or more advanced alternatives. Premier Li, who met with Mr. Musk in the spring, helped Tesla rush its factory construction in Shanghai five years ago when he was the city’s Communist Party secretary. Still, Tesla is awaiting approval for its latest self-driving technology.

中国监管机构尚未允许特斯拉在中国道路上推出完全自动驾驶汽车。但包括蔚来、华为和百度在内的许多中国公司已获准推出类似或更先进的替代技术。五年前，时任中共上海市委书记的李强总理曾帮助特斯拉加快在上海的工厂建设。尽管如此，特斯拉仍在等待最新自动驾驶技术的批准。

Tesla is “at a complete disadvantage in the Chinese market because they don’t have an intelligent driving system,” said Tu Le, the managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a Detroit consulting firm specializing in China’s automotive sector.

特斯拉在中国市场“完全处于劣势，因为他们没有智能驾驶系统”，底特律一家专门研究中国汽车行业的咨询公司“中国汽车洞察”的董事总经理涂乐说。

When Tesla’s cars became available in large numbers in 2020, their instant popularity transformed the Chinese car market by making electric vehicles seem fashionable and appealing, said Bill Russo, an electric car consultant in Shanghai.

上海的电动汽车顾问罗威(Bill Russo)说，当特斯拉汽车在2020年大量上市时，这些汽车的迅速流行改变了中国的汽车市场，使电动汽车显得时尚而有吸引力。

Since then, state-controlled banks have lent billions of dollars at low interest rates to Chinese automakers, which have used the money to wage fierce price wars that have wrecked profit margins. Tesla has participated in the price competition, but its China sales have grown more slowly than those of its local rivals.

从那时起，国家控制的银行以低利率向中国汽车制造商贷款数十亿美元，这些制造商利用这些资金发动了激烈的价格战，破坏了利润率。特斯拉也参与了价格竞争，但其在中国的销售增长速度慢于当地的竞争对手。

南昌的一条电动车装配线。国有银行以低利率向中国汽车制造商提供了数十亿美元的贷款，加剧了价格战，导致利润率大幅下降。

Like most American businesses in China, Tesla faces potential political risks, even with Mr. Musk’s close relationship with Mr. Trump.

与大多数在华美国企业一样，特斯拉也面临着潜在的政治风险，即使马斯克与特朗普关系密切。

Citing national security, the Biden administration has begun a regulatory proceeding to prohibit the import or sale in the United States of cars from China or Russia with connections to digital networks. If that proceeding continues in the Trump administration and results in a ban on such cars, Chinese regulators could retaliate by limiting Tesla cars, which rely on extensively photographing their surroundings to provide even basic driving assistance.

拜登政府以国家安全为由启动了一项监管程序，禁止从中国或俄罗斯进口、销售带有数字网络连接的汽车。如果特朗普政府继续执行这一程序，并最终禁止此类汽车，中国监管机构可能会采取报复措施，对特斯拉汽车加以限制，因为特斯拉汽车依靠广泛拍摄周围环境来提供基本的驾驶辅助功能。

China has already banned Tesla cars in some sensitive locations, like military bases.

中国已经在军事基地等敏感地区禁止了特斯拉汽车。

The biggest question for Mr. Musk’s influence on Sino-American commercial relations lies in how long his alliance with Mr. Trump will last. Mr. Musk contributed more than $100 million to Mr. Trump’s election effort. But some analysts already question whether their friendship can endure long enough to make a difference.

马斯克与特朗普的联盟能持续多久，这是他影响中美商业关系最大的问题。马斯克为特朗普的竞选活动捐款超过1亿美元。但一些分析人士已经开始质疑他们的友谊能否维持足够长的时间，从而产生影响。

“The largest two egos in the world are eventually going to have a falling-out,” Mr. Le said.

“世界上最自负的两个人最终会闹掰，”涂乐说。