Google rumoured to close China search engine

The Chinese government on Friday warned the American company that it was not willing to compromise on internet censorship to stop Google from leaving the country.

Google is likely to take some time to carry out the plan, because it is looking forward to an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities, a source familiar with the situation said.

Google is also trying to find ways to continue its other operations in China, however some executives are concerned that Chinese authorities could make it difficult to keep its presence in the Asian country.

Minister for Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said: “If [Google] takes steps that violate Chinese laws, that would be unfriendly, that would be irresponsible, and they would have to bear the consequences.”

Mr Li encouraged Google to continue its operations. “[Google] has taken 30 per cent of the Chinese search market.

“If you don’t leave, China will welcome that, if you don’t leave, it will be beneficial for the development of the internet in China.”

Senior executives, however, remained “adamant” about ending the censorship, an unnamed source close to the company said. This person added that Google has also refused to continue providing the search service by giving majority control or the entire business to a local business entity.

Google’s executives expressed hope to stay in China, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations regarding Google.cn. “It’s very important to know we are not pulling out of China,” Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive said. “We have a good business in China. This is about the censorship rules, not anything else.”