PALO ALTO -- U.S. electric-vehicle maker Tesla has agreed with the Shanghai government to set up a plant in the city, a deal that would make it the first foreign automaker to open a wholly owned factory in China, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
The planned factory in a free-trade zone would signal a change in Beijing's past policy, under which it required foreign manufacturers to set up joint ventures to operate in the country. The previous policy was aimed at promoting transfers of technology held by foreign companies to Chinese companies.
