Charles Michel, President of the European Council, has affirmed the European Union's (EU) commitment to establishing reciprocity with China. He expressed concern over the imbalance in business opportunities between the two countries, highlighting that while Chinese businesses are free to invest in the U.S., American companies face potential risks when investing in China or using Chinese-owned social media outlets due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government.
"The EU is united in the pursuit of a stable and mutually beneficial relationship with China", said Charles Michel, according to X. "A relationship anchored in the principles of transparency, predictability and reciprocity."
The concept of reciprocity is explained by the America First Policy Institute as a principle that dictates "the CCP and anyone tied to it should have no access to any institution or opportunity in America beyond that which we have access to in China."
Screenshot of post on X
| https://twitter.com/CharlesMichel/status/1732686694443356609
In a recent episode of the Federal Newswire China Desk podcast, Dmitri Alperovitch questioned why the U.S. permits TikTok's operation when China bans platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Alperovitch said, "Even though the content on TikTok is user-generated, there's no question the Chinese company clearly has ties with the CCP. The Chinese Communist Party has moderation rights in terms of what you see, how you see it, and what you don't see, which is also as important on TikTok." He also raised concerns about media concentration rules in America where an American citizen cannot own TV stations reaching more than 40% of the population while Chinese companies claim they reach half of it. Alperovitch is a co-founder and chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator and serves on several advisory boards including those for Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.
Alperovitch further emphasized that reciprocity is crucial for ensuring free trade. He warned that American businesses risk intellectual property theft or intervention from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when investing in China while their Chinese counterparts operate freely within U.S. borders.
Tenzin Namgyal, an analyst specializing in Tibet and China relations, echoed similar sentiments regarding TikTok and reciprocity: "Even if you abstract the obvious dangers of #CCP owned #TikTok for State Security and youths' mental health, as a matter of reciprocity, as long as #Fakebook #Twitter etc are banned in #China dictatorship, it should be banned as well in Democratic World."
According to the Council of the European Union's website, Michel, a Belgium native and University of Brussels graduate, has been serving as the President of the European Council since 2019.
