The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Google, world’s largest search engine was now almost certain to shut its Chinese search engine.
It said on its website Google had drawn up detailed plans for closing its Chinese search engine.
China warned Google on Friday against flouting the country’s laws, as expectations grow for a resolution to a public battle over censorship and cyber-security.
Google has about 35 percent of the Chinese search market, compared with about 60 percent for local rival Baidu Inc.
Chinese users of Google and even some of China’s state-controlled media have warned the loss of a major competitor could slow the industry’s development.
Google shocked business and political circles in when it threatened to pull out of China if it could not offer an unfiltered Chinese search engine. The threat came after cyber attacks originating from China on it and about 30 other firms.
When asked what would China do if Google simply stopped filtering search results, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Yizhong, said that it would be irresponsible and unfriendly to disresepect Chinese laws and Google would have to face the consequences.
Even if the China-based Google search site is shut down, Google wants to keep a Beijing development center, advertising sales offices and a fledgling mobile phone business, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.