China welcomes X to operate in the country as long as it complies with local laws and regulations, a government spokesperson said.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Sunday that he was not in favor of the U.S. banning TikTok, but that the situation where X is not allowed to operate in China needs to change.

The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that a TikTok "sell-or-ban" law was not unconstitutional. That means the Supreme Court allowed the bill to go into effect on Sunday as originally planned.

The bill, which was passed in late April, requires TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company within 270 days, or the app will be banned in the U.S.

In response, Musk posted on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, "I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech."

"That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced," he said, adding, "Something needs to change."

TikTok said in a statement on X Sunday morning that it was restoring service to U.S. users and would work with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on a long-term solution that would "keep TikTok in the United States."

In response to Musk's comments, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a regular press conference on Monday that X could operate in China as long as it complied with Chinese laws and regulations.

"The Chinese government manages the Internet in accordance with the law, and as long as they comply with Chinese laws and regulations and provides safe and reliable products and services, we welcome Internet companies from all countries to develop in China," said Mao.

Currently, Chinese users cannot use X through regular channels, but they can successfully access the U.S. app through a VPN.