Elon Musk's strong ties to China raise many question marks in the American capital, Washington, and Musk owns electric car maker Tesla and SpaceX, and he is currently trying to acquire Twitter.
Musk's desire to acquire the Twitter platform for $ 44 billion prompted the question of the motives for this desire, and whether China would benefit from this deal in one way or another.
Twitter and Chinese Risks
During a meeting within the activities of the Qatar Economic Forum, Musk considered that what represents a danger on Twitter is not China, but rather automated fake accounts.
He pointed out that China is not trying to interfere with freedom of expression in the United States, as well as praising the Chinese electric car industry, noting that "Chinese electric car producers are serious competitors, and I expect many Chinese electric cars to appear and export them to the world soon."
It is widely known that many governments around the world are trying to hack social media platforms for various reasons, and two years ago, US official accusations were directed at former Twitter employees of spying for the Saudi government in order to spy on the accounts of some of its opponents. American public opinion in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Tesla achieved $3.1 billion in sales in China in 2021 (Reuters)
Despite the ban on the Twitter application inside China, some observers fear China's ability to influence Twitter if Elon Musk acquires it, and it may require restricting the accounts of Chinese opponents abroad, or banning what China considers illegal content, in addition to fears of allowing its own propaganda Spreading through Twitter unchecked.
Because of the huge Chinese progress in the technology sector, Washington has classified a number of Chinese technology companies as having suspicious relations with the Chinese military, and imposed various sanctions on them.
The number of Chinese companies listed on the US blacklist has reached more than 270, led by "Huawei" and "ZTE", which work in the telecommunications field, "Hikvision" for surveillance systems, and "Smeek" company (SMIIC), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer.
FBI Director Christopher Wray periodically accuses China of spying on his country using social media, and presents a bleak picture of its intervention through its clients in a wide campaign of economic espionage and the theft of information, data and research of American companies, in addition to Conducting illegal political activities, using bribery and blackmail tactics to influence American businessmen to achieve Chinese political goals.
"We're getting to the point where every 10 hours the FBI opens a new counterintelligence case involving China," Ray said.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, technology expert Elias Sherzad - who is the owner of a company contracting with several government agencies - indicated that "given the volume of information and the number of users that Twitter has, and therefore the amount of sensitive personal data it possesses, it is likely that any buyer of it will be examined for closely.”
The Twitter platform currently has 229 million users, and Elon Musk aspires to reach a billion people.
US officials have previously accused China of hacking insurance company Anthem and credit rating agency Equifax in pursuit of the personal information of millions of American citizens.
The US security authorities fear the possible access to user data, especially as China has a long track record in this field, according to the expert Sherzad.
Chinese pressure instrument
The records of the US Capital Market Authority - known as "SEC" - show that Tesla achieved sales in China of $ 3.1 billion in 2021, and the company's profits in China are preceded only by its sales within the United States, which amount to More than 6 billion dollars.
The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, while its largest factory is located in Shanghai, China.
Some commentators believe that the reliance of Tesla (the source of Musk's revolution) on China, prompts him not to make any statements that would anger the political leadership in it.
And through Chinese domination of the supply chain that goes into all stages of manufacturing the Tesla car, the Chinese government has so much influence over Elon Musk’s fortune that his planned acquisition of the Twitter platform worries some US security and intelligence officials.
Several governments - such as Russia, China and the UAE - have invested in using Twitter to advance their national interests, and regulators fear this could be made easier by accessing inside information or influencing new Twitter administrators.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States - known as CFIUS, and includes representatives from the ministries of Treasury, Justice, Defense and State - oversees the acquisitions of American companies by foreign entities, and a number of its officials asked questions about the nature of foreign investors Participants in Musk's bid to acquire the Twitter platform.
While US law prevents the FIC from interfering when the acquirer is American, as is the case with Musk, when there are Chinese interests, the FIC does a very comprehensive risk-based analysis regardless of the acquirer's nationality.
And expert Elias Sherzad points out that "the US government, for considerations of national security, can stop the entire tension deal."
And a report published last May revealed that China has set a strategy to become the world's leading exporter of electric car batteries, and Tesla revealed that China is the main exporter of its car batteries.
This is causing great concern among US intelligence officials, who are concerned about the possibility of pressure and Musk's arm from China to hack Twitter accounts.
Although Twitter itself is banned in China and therefore not accessible to most people, Beijing is interested in how it affects the views of foreigners in the country, and many Chinese officials and diplomats have been active on Twitter in recent years to promote the positions and policies of the ruling Communist Party.