"Ford CEO meets with White House officials to discuss: Let's bring Chinese companies to the United States for joint venture automobile manufacturing."

On February 14, Bloomberg reported that Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley met with senior officials from the Trump administration last month to discuss a potential framework in which Chinese automakers could build factories in the United States to produce cars, but at the same time, they would need to provide a certain level of protection for local companies. According to sources who did not want to be named, the discussions involved Chinese car companies partnering with American companies through joint ventures, with the American companies holding majority ownership. These joint ventures would be structured in a way that allows both Chinese and American partners to share profits and technology. The report stated that no decisions have been made on this matter yet, and these discussions were described by sources as informal and preliminary. In response, Ford stated in a statement that Farley led cabinet members on a tour of Ford's exhibit at the Detroit auto show and "discussed various industry topics," but refused to disclose specific details.