Elon Musk’s private jet has landed in Beijing as the Tesla billionaire begins his first visit to the country in over three years.

Mr Musk is expected to meet senior officials in the Chinese government and visit Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai as the company plans to boost output in the country.

His visit comes as Tesla faces growing competition from Chinese electric car manufacturers and amid increasing tensions between China and the US.

The 51-year-old last visited China in January 2020, shortly after the Shanghai plant started making cars and before the pandemic led to years of lockdowns in the country.

Since then, he has won and lost the title of the world’s richest man and acquired Twitter, which is banned in China alongside other major Western social networks.

Beijing has also threatened to block Starlink, the satellite internet service run by Mr Musk’s SpaceX, with military-sponsored researchers saying they could jam the service’s signal.

A spokesman for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “China welcomes Mr Musk and other leaders from the business community to have a better understanding of China and promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

“We would like to see foreign investors operating in China, exploring the Chinese market and sharing in the dividends of the development of China.”