Microsoft has reiterated that it has no intention of pulling out of the Chinese market, despite the ongoing problems between the nation and Google.
Google's well-publicised decision to end its collaboration with China over search filters has re-opened the thorny debate about Western internet companies operating within a nation that actively censors the web, and refusal to accede to the nation's demand could see the search giants withdraw entirely from the market.
However, with Steve Ballmer already insisting that the company has no intention of following Google's lead in refusing to follow China's rules, the decision has been underlined by Microsoft's Asian branch.
Aggressively promote
"Regardless of whether or not Google stays, we will aggressively promote our search and cloud computing (in China)," Zhang Yaqin, chairman of Microsoft's Asia-Pacific R&D Group, told Reuters.
With Bing still battling hard for market share, the Chinese market is no doubt an incredibly important one for Microsoft.
The argument once posited by Google when it controversially got involved in the China market was that any kind of internet accessibility is better than none at all, a stance that the company has now changed.
Currently Baidu is dominant in the Chinese search market, but with the country now becoming a dominant online force in terms of traffic, Microsoft will be hoping that Bing can establish itself in the most burgeoning market.
Google thaw
However, there appears to still be some hope that some kind of resolution can be found between China and Google.
At the same time as Microsoft signalled its desire to aggressively promote search in China, a government official said that there was still hope of an accord with Google.
Reuters reports that a comment made by Li Yizhong, minister of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), suggested that China is in consultation with Google to resolve its dispute with the company.
Via Reuters
