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Elon Musk has denied the lack of transfer in the US-China technology relationship, a rare criticism from the billionaire on issues affecting Beijing after the US president-elect, Donald Trump, prepared to give a break to TikTok on and prohibition in the United States.
Muskwho has long sought to maintain close ties with Communist Party officials in China, the main market and manufacturing base of his electric car company Tesla, has been careful in his statements for years in Beijing.
But he said on Sunday that “something has to change” after Trump said he “could” extend the deadline for Chinese technology group ByteDance to withdraw. TikTokwhich faced a ban under US law that briefly forced it out of business.
Musk said that while he opposed banning the short-form video app on free speech grounds, “the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China, when it is enough”.
“Something has to change,” he said in X’s post.
When asked about Musk’s comments, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Monday that Beijing welcomed any company that abides by its rules and Chinese companies abroad must comply. local laws.
In response to Trump’s proposal to push TikTok, that start restoring the service In the United States on Sunday, in a joint venture, Mao said Chinese groups should “decide independently” on operations and agreements.
Musk’s criticism was mild compared to some of his more aggressive attacks on western politicians and his recent interventions. national politics such as GermanyUK and Italy.
But it highlighted the potential trade-offs between protecting his business in China and serving as a confidant to the incoming president and the government’s most efficient monarch.
Tesla got almost a quarter of its sales in the third quarter from China and exported many cars from its Shanghai factory to third countries.
Some analysts believe Beijing is placing its trust in Musk as a potential mediator against Trump, who has vowed to increase tariffs on Chinese imports. Chinese officials had previously discussed using Musk as a salesman to settle the fate of TikTok in America.
Musk on Sunday also met with Chinese vice president Han Zheng, who he will represent President Xi Jinping during Trump’s inauguration. The presence of a senior Chinese official like Han has never been present at US presidential meetings, where Beijing is often represented by its representative in Washington.
“Han met . . . Elon Musk, and welcomed US companies including Tesla to take opportunities and share the results of China’s development,” the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
Han also met with business leaders from the US-China Chamber of Commerce and the US Chamber of Commerce on Sunday, as well as incoming Trump vice president JD Vance.
Han and Vance discussed the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which successive US administrations have pushed Beijing to crack down on, as well as regional stability and balanced trade, the Trump-Vance transition team said. in the sentence.
US business leaders in the past sought to play a measuring influence in the often volatile Sino-US relationship, a role Beijing appears eager to promote ahead of a second Trump administration.
Han described US trade as the “backbone” of bilateral relations, and urged businesses to “play an active role as a bridge” in US-China relations, Xinhua said.
