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Despite its 1.1 percent slide in global deliveries, American electric vehicle brand Tesla saw its sales in China rise 8.8 percent to a record high of more than 657,000 cars in 2024. With 36.7 percent of its vehicles delivered to customers in China in the past year, Tesla's popularity in the country demonstrates the openness and vitality of the Chinese economy.

"The carmaker's record China sales while its worldwide deliveries fell is reflective of the global EV landscape, as China is the only major market seeing robust growth versus a slowdown or even slide in other markets," Reuters quoted John Zheng, head of market forecast for China at London-based consultancy GlobalData, as saying.

According to Reuters, China accounted for 70 percent of global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids in the first 11 months of 2024, and over 90 percent of an increase in global EV and hybrid sales over the past year came from China.

Tesla's popularity proves China's vast consumption potential.

For years, the Chinese government has implemented a slew of concrete measures – increasing fiscal input, removing market barriers, and exploring new consumption frontiers, to name but a few – to boost the country's consumption.

Against this backdrop, consumption has become China's main engine for economic growth. In the first nine months of 2024, consumption contributed 49.9 percent of the country's economic growth, substantially surpassing investment, according to Xinhua.

At the annual Central Economic Work Conference held last month, the Chinese government further positioned "boosting consumption" as a key task for 2025, urging for the implementation of a special campaign to increase incomes and alleviate the burdens of low- and middle-income groups. China's strong will and concrete measures to stimulate consumption explain the country's robust consumption power.

Tesla's record China sales amid its sliding global deliveries also demonstrate the openness of the Chinese market, as trade barriers in some certain Western means decreased deliveries.

Against the backdrop of rising protectionist sentiments worldwide, China has been opening its door wider, creating more opportunities for foreign investments. While certain Western countries repeatedly set up trade barriers in an attempt to "protect" domestic industries, China cut the number of restriction items from 31 to 29 last November, lifting all restrictions in the manufacturing sector. For decades, the country has been continuously improving laws and regulations, laying a solid institutional foundation for high-level opening-up.

Foreign investments flocked to China as a result. In 2019, Tesla built its first Gigafactory outside the U.S. in China's Shanghai, accounting for more than half of the carmaker's global deliveries. "Our Shanghai factory is running at max capacity," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on social media platform X last September.

Apart from Tesla, the German carmaker BMW announced an additional investment of 20 billion yuan ($2.81 billion) in its production base in China's Shenyang last April. Mercedes-Benz announced its plan to jointly invest over 14 billion yuan ($1.97 billion) with local partners in China last September.

According to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, about 90 percent of the 400-plus foreign firms surveyed in the third quarter of 2024 were satisfied with China's business environment and nearly 20 percent had plans to boost investment in the country.

Tesla's record sales in China amidst a global delivery slide underscore the vitality and openness of the Chinese economy. The country's robust consumption potential, driven by government initiatives, and its commitment to creating a favorable business environment have attracted significant foreign investments.

As China continues to open its doors wider and foster economic growth, it stands as a critical player in the global electric vehicle market, demonstrating a promising future for both domestic and international businesses.

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