To boost the economy, Trump has welcomed Chinese companies to produce cars in the United States

Former U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his openness to Chinese automakers producing cars in the United States as a way to boost the economy; That suggests he could take a different approach than the Biden administration, which has tried to keep out cars linked to China.

"As we speak, China is building huge factories across the border in Mexico, and they're building cars to sell into the United States," Trump said Thursday during a speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

He said the factories will be "built in America, and our people will work in these factories," or he will impose tariffs of up to 200 percent on each car to keep them out of the country.

The comment was similar to what he said at a rally in Ohio in March, without naming companies. BYD Co., China's largest maker of electric vehicles, is looking to build a large plant in Mexico.

Both Trump and Biden have sought to block Chinese-made cars from entering the United States to protect domestic manufacturers. But the Republican candidate appears to be taking a more transactional approach to Chinese companies building cars in the United States.