American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk's latest plan to expand his tunnel-boring project to China is meeting with skepticism about whether it's practical and economically viable.

Such infrastructure projects should be seen from the perspective of genuine public demand rather than only technical feasibility, according to experts.

The US billionaire, whose Tesla Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai is rushing to launch mass production by the end of 2019, on Saturday announced that he will launch a China unit for his underground tunneling enterprise, The Boring Co, by the end of this month.

Musk tweeted that he "will also be launching The Boring Company China" while he attends the World Artificial Intelligence Conference of 2019 in Shanghai between August 29 and 31.

Responding to a follower's tweet, Musk said The Boring Co will also do underwater tunnels.

No specific information about the projects in China was given.

The idea, which Musk came up with during a traffic jam in 2016 and finished the first test in the US in December 2018, has received a cool reception in the US, and now it's also facing questions in China.

A US company building underground transport tunnels to solve traffic jams in China, a country with relatively advanced city public transport systems and a strong infrastructure capacity, especially advanced tunneling technologies, doesn't sound promising, Tian Yun, vice president of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"Some experimental projects in some regions might be launched, because local governments are willing to carry out high-profile programs like this," Tian said. "However, the prospects of making a profit are questionable."

Musk is benefiting from China's efforts to improve transport efficiency and greener growth approach. China remained Tesla's second-largest market in the first half of 2019, with car sales surging by 41.8 percent on a yearly basis, according to a filing Tesla submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on July 29.

The entrepreneur didn't explain why the tunneling company would expand to China, but according to analysts, larger, denser populations might benefit more from tunnel systems and Tesla's presence in China would also expand thanks to the tunnel project. The tunnel projects could represent a complement to Tesla's plans in China.

Zhang Guohua, director of urban traffic research institute affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, told the Global Times on Sunday that public transport programs in big cities need to be closely scrutinized for economic viability, public demand and safety.

"Public transport programs should be people-oriented, rather than just considering technical breakthroughs," Zhang said. "What public transport systems in China's big cities need is to improve efficiency and quality."

It seems unlikely for the US tunnel start-up to succeed just by moving its immature business model to China, Zhang added.