“China resolution coming soon…” says Google’s Eric Schmidt.
Google took the tech world by storm back in early January by stating (out of the blue I might add) that they were going to cease censoring search results in China and that if China pushed back, the California based company was going to pull out of China all together. Yet here we sit almost two months later and not much else has developed besides a few comments hurdled back and forth between the Chinese government and Google. To most, we’ve already written off Google’s future in China as pretty much finished. I mean, China is one of the most censored markets in the world whereas Google is one of the most outspoken on such policies — complete opposites. Consider it a pretty substantial surprise then that Google announced today, more or less “positive” negotiations with the Chinese government.
Today at a press conference in Abu Dhabi, CEO Eric Schmidt went ahead and stated that “while there was no set in stone time-table yet, he sees a resolution happening in the not too distant future”. Should we cheer? Or should we stand back, holding on to our truckload of caution? I’m siding with the latter for now. China isn’t exactly the negotiable type at the world table, nor have they every really shown that they care what the rest of the world thinks of them. But if there is any truth in Schmidt’s response, consider it one of the greatest revolutions in the modern technical era. If such a concession is made by the Chinese government, I will be generally intrigued to see how other companies follow suit.
Think there’s any chance Google can “win” in China?
Author: Mike Norris
visit my websiteGadget lover, smartphone collector, and beer connoisseur. I've been writing about gadgets for three years now and loving every minute of it. Outside of the digital landscape, I enjoy being active outdoors. I'm always up for a good conversation, so feel free to drop me a line!
