From Short Videos to Strategic Influence: TikTok as an Extension of Chinese Power in Europe

In recent years, TikTok has evolved from a popular entertainment platform into a significant vector of influence within the European digital landscape. While often perceived as culturally neutral and youth-oriented, the platform's ownership structure and internal governance link it structurally to the political apparatus of the People's Republic of China. This article investigates how TikTok, under ByteDance's control, functions not merely as a space for content creation and consumption, but as a potential channel for Chinese soft and sharp power projection in Europe. Drawing on theories of soft power, platform governance, and international political communication, this study critically examines TikTok's dual role as both a transnational cultural medium and an infrastructure susceptible to influence by state actors. Unlike traditional propaganda models, the influence potentially exerted through TikTok is algorithmic, aestheticized, and largely invisible, embedded in what content is promoted, suppressed, or subtly redirected through the platform's opaque recommendation systems. This dynamic may enable a form of algorithmic politics wherein narratives favorable to the Chinese Communist Party can be amplified, while dissenting content may be silenced. The article presents case studies examining how TikTok content and influencer dynamics have intersected with key political events across Europe, including election campaigns, public protests, evolving discourse on NATO and Ukraine, and most notably the 2024–2025 Romanian presidential elections. In Romania, coordinated networks of TikTok accounts allegedly contributed to the rapid rise of previously obscure candidates, triggering investigations by Romanian intelligence services and the European Commission under the Digital Services Act. The first round of elections was subsequently annulled by Romania's Constitutional Court. These cases are particularly significant given TikTok's demographics: the platform commands exceptional watch times among younger audiences, with a substantial proportion of European users under 25, for many of whom TikTok serves as a primary source of political information. TikTok's format, favoring emotionally charged, decontextualized, highly viral short-form video, creates conditions that may exacerbate political polarization, undermine democratic deliberation, and blur distinctions between organic and coordinated information flows. This research interrogates the structural dependencies and regulatory gaps that allow a foreign-controlled platform to operate at scale in European democracies with minimal transparency or accountability. It examines the implications of TikTok's content moderation practices, data governance model, and internal party structures, including CCP committees within ByteDance, for media pluralism, civic discourse, and electoral integrity. Methodologically, the article combines digital ethnography, discourse analysis, and process tracing with available platform data, supplemented by investigative journalism and European regulatory documents. The analysis positions TikTok within China's broader "platform diplomacy" and sharp power projection, exploring how digital platforms may function to extend governance models and shape narratives beyond national borders