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Elon Musk railed against a lack of reciprocity in US-China tech relations, a rare criticism from the billionaire on issues sensitive to Beijing after US President-elect Donald Trump was poised to offer a delay to the US ban on TikTok.
Muskwho has long tried to maintain close ties to Communist Party officials in China, the main market and manufacturing center for his Tesla electric car company, has diligently circled Beijing’s hot-button public issues for years.
But he said on Sunday that “something has to change” after Trump said he would “most likely” extend the deadline for Chinese tech group ByteDance to separate from TikTokwho faced a ban under US law that briefly forced him offline.
Musk said that while he opposes banning the short-form video app on free speech grounds, “the current situation where TikTok is allowed to work in America but X is not allowed to work in China is unbalanced.”
“Something has to change,” he said in a post on X.
Asked about Musk’s comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing welcomes any company that abides by its laws, and Chinese groups abroad are required to follow local rules.
Responding to Trump’s proposal to push TikTok, which started restoring service in the US on Sunday, in a joint venture, Mao said the Chinese groups should “independently decide” on operations and business.
Musk’s criticism was mild compared to some of his fierce attacks on Western politicians and recent forays into the internal politics of countries like GermanyGreat Britain and Italy.
But it highlighted potential conflicts of interest for the Tesla chief between protecting his business interests in China and serving as the future president’s confidant and government efficiency czar.
Tesla made almost a quarter of its sales in China in the third quarter and exported even more vehicles from its factory in Shanghai to third countries.
Some analysts believe Beijing is pinning its hopes on Musk as a potential mediator with Trump, who has promised to raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Chinese officials had previously discussed using Musk as a broker decide the fate of TikTok in the US.
On Sunday, Musk also met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who will represent President Xi Jinping at Trump’s inauguration. The presence of such a high-ranking Chinese official as Han is unprecedented at US presidential inaugurations, where Beijing is normally represented by its ambassador in Washington.
“Han met . . . Elon Musk and welcomed American companies, including Tesla, to take advantage of opportunities and share the fruits of Chinese development,” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.
Han also met Sunday with business leaders from the US-China Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce, as well as Trump’s new 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 balancing trade, the Trump-Vance transition team said in a statement.
American business leaders in the past have sought to play a moderating influence in the often volatile Sino-US relationship, a role Beijing seems eager to boost ahead of the second Trump administration.
Han described American business as the “backbone” of relations between the countries and called on businesses to “play an active role as a bridge” in US-China relations, Xinhua reports.
