Bill Gates bats for China
- Source: Global Times
- [02:31 January 27 2010]
- Comments
"One thing is for sure, both sides (Google and the Chinese authorities) are crystal clear on the importance of keeping the friction controllable," Pan said.
Liu Dan, an Internet industry analyst, said the level of how localized foreign-invested Internet companies operate in China can become a decisive factor in their business prospects.
"Baidu, a joint-venture search engine, has the cutting edge in government relations, and Microsoft, which entered China in 1992, has a relatively deep understanding of the Chinese market," Liu said.
"Google is a company that has a strong personality. It doesn't seem to have learned how to cooperate with Chinese authorities. But at the same time, there is the possibility that Google orchestrated this pullout (as a) public relations event on purpose. Still, it's hard to say if Google can get what it had expected," Liu said.
"The Chinese government will definitely make no concession, while Google will stay, eventually," Liu predicted.
A mid-level manager at Oracle China, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the "withdrawal threat by Google offended the Chinese government and would cast a shadow on its future operations in the country. "
The top management of Google was not familiar with the conditions in the Chinese market, the development of the Internet industry or relevant laws and regulations, the Oracle China manager said.
"It's a lesson for Google. It has to learn how to strengthen its cooperation with Chinese authorities, how to express itself while ensuring understanding," the source said, adding that the crisis is due to "immaturity" and that it will only obstruct Google's development.
Despite the current impasse, Google is in "delicate negotiations" with the Chinese government to keep in China its research center, an advertising sales team that generates most of the company's revenue in the country and a fledgling mobile-phone business, the AP reported Tuesday, quoting a person familiar with the company's thinking.
But that won't happen if the management believes its decision to stop censoring search results will jeopardize employees in China, according to the source, the AP said.
In another development, three US oil companies, including Marathon Oil, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhil-lips, were believed by the FBI to have suffered hacking attempts in 2008. Some were said to have been orchestrated from China, the Christian Science Monitor reported Monday.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government.
Global Times/Agencies
