Google still in China

Dani 0 398 Views

A Google official has announced this morning that the search giant is back in action in China. Google, the second most popular search engine in China, behind Baidu, announced in January of this year that it would no longer censor its search results on the Chinese version of its website, against the wishes of the Chinese government. As a result, Google's stock price plummeted while Baidu's stock price saw all time highs, surpassing Google on the stock market.

A couple months later, Google began redirecting users accessing the google.cn version of Google to the uncensored Hong Kong version. Unfortunately, Chinese officials didn't find that acceptable and threatened to not renew Google's Internet Content Provider (ICP) license, which grants the search giant permission to operate a commercial website in China. Google was therefore slated to go dark in China when their existing ICP license (which must be renewed annually) expired.

Google recently started providing a link to the Hong Kong site on the Google.cn landing page instead of an automatic redirect. As of this morning, Google has announced that the Chinese government has found this latest revision acceptable and has just renewed Google's ICP license. That means Google is in the clear with China ... for now. Either way, Google's pre-market stock price has soared 14 points so far. The official word has been posted on the official Google Blog by David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer of Google.

Dani AI

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This thread records the 2010 showdown rather well, but a concise, updated view helps make sense of what followed and what it means today. Google’s public break with Chinese censorship began after it disclosed targeted attacks on Gmail accounts and said it would stop self‑censoring; the company then moved much search traffic toward its Hong Kong site and later altered the google.cn landing page so regulators would renew its operating (ICP) permission. (theguardian.com)

That ICP permission is the core technical/legal point most posters missed. An ICP filing or license from China’s MIIT is required to host commercial sites inside mainland China; without it a site can effectively be cut off from normal mainland delivery. That is why Google changed behavior (not simply “obeyed” or “walked away”) — the license controls whether a commercial service can run from inside the Great Firewall. (tmogroup.asia)

Longer term: Google’s 2010 choices left it with only limited mainland traction, and later efforts to re‑enter with a censored product (the 2017–18 “Dragonfly” reports) triggered strong internal and NGO pushback and were not rolled out. The episode shows how technical, legal and ethical pressures interact — not a simple market share contest. (cnbc.com)

Practical takeaway for anyone doing search or digital business targeted at China (addressing comments from , , and others): do not assume Google will serve as your primary channel into the mainland. Local engines and platforms dominate; StatCounter shows Google’s share in China is a fraction of the market while Baidu and local rivals lead. To reach mainland users, host in China and obtain the proper ICP filing/license, publish in Simplified Chinese, register with Baidu Webmaster Tools, optimize for mobile speed and local link networks. (gs.statcounter.com)

Bottom line: the 2010 story isn’t just history — it’s a reminder that regulatory and technical constraints (ICP, blocking, data rules) shape what vendors can do in China. Plans and tactics should treat China as a separate digital market with its own rules, not as an extension of global Google‑first SEO.

Member Avatar for Lecee Lery
Lecee Lery 0 Junior Poster in Training

sometime i wonder.... why can't google obey China's request...

Member Avatar for Devoted Hosting
Devoted Hosting 0 Light Poster

Glad to hear it's been sorted :)

Whilst I'm sure neither would like to admit it, I doubt that Google pulling out from China would benefit either company/country.

Member Avatar for canadafred
canadafred 220 SEO Alumni

ya ... ok ... anyone think they're gonna' start acting like a search engine again rather than this shit stirring self-proclaimed global diplomat ... go Google

Member Avatar for AirForceOne
AirForceOne 9 Posting Pro in Training

In my own opinion, Google has never left China since it only redirect the SERP pages to Google.hk. Also, I think Google might not afford to lose the big growing market on China mainland.

all the best,

Member Avatar for redesignunit
redesignunit -4 Posting Pro in Training

Google never left china because Google goat some business from china

Member Avatar for elum.chaitu
elum.chaitu 0 Light Poster

Hello The Great Firewall of China, which gives the Chinese government the ability to restrict certain Web sites from appearing on computers in China.That was the whole reason Google agreed to censor its search engine when it entered China, arguing that it wanted to provide a better searching experience for the vast majority of queries that aren't politically sensitive.

Member Avatar for mathis
mathis 0 Newbie Poster

its just take few weeks or less when google beats baidu and becoming the largest search engine in china as well :)
google is the best

Member Avatar for fanatic123
fanatic123 0 Light Poster

I don't think google will ever leave China, they might have shifted priorities.

Member Avatar for stevenpeter
stevenpeter -2 Junior Poster

Google is best , even the chiness are doing the their best to defeat the Google. They are making attacks to destroy Google influnce .

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