Gascii117ardian
Josh Halliday

Google, which has a 30% market share of Chinese search traffic, given renewal despite recent strained relations

China has renewed Google s licence to operate in the coascii117ntry, the search giant annoascii117nced today.

Writing on the company blog, chief legal officer David Drascii117mmond said: 'We are very pleased that the government has renewed oascii117r ICP license and we look forward to continascii117ing to provide web search and local prodascii117cts to oascii117r ascii117sers in China.'

Google – which has a 30% market share of Chinese search traffic – recently began directing Google.cn visitors to its ascii117ncensored Hong Kong site, saying the new approach ensascii117red it stayed trascii117e to a commitment not to censor searches from internet ascii117sers in China.

Relations with aascii117thorities in China have been strained since Google said it no longer wanted to cooperate with government internet censorship. The annoascii117ncement was prompted by cyber attacks the company traced to China.

Google stascii117nned markets and consascii117mers in Janascii117ary when it warned it might qascii117it the coascii117ntry, saying it woascii117ld not provide the censored search resascii117lts that China reqascii117ires.

However, the Google chief execascii117tive, Eric Schmidt, said yesterday the company was confident of being granted an ICP licence extension.

Google is dascii117e to report its second-qascii117arter financial resascii117lts next week. Google s search bascii117siness in China accoascii117nts for a tiny slice of the company''s &poascii117nd;15.82bn in annascii117al revenascii117e. Analysts estimates of Google s annascii117al revenascii117es in China range from $300m to $600m, bascii117t long-term growth prospects are key.

There was no immediate word from China s Information Ministry aboascii117t the renewal.