Google’s Opportunity Scale in China is Continuously Becoming Smaller

One year has passed since the stunts between Beijing and Google over censorship were pulled publicly. According to an analysis, Google’s business with Chinese advertisers is growing more and more simultaneously as the Internet giant's share of online searches becomes lesser and lesser in China.

Interface of Google.com in Chinese

Just recently, a Chinese portal made public declaration that it is not use Google for search anymore, making the rapid loss of market share steeper. It was anticipated that Google’s step forward in China will be its famous mapping service which has previously played a key role boasting its reputation at other places, but its appeal remains unanswered and doubtful in China. Now the Google's primary presence in China has mere come down to its advertising sales offices, which is a very unfortunate event for a company like Google which largely dominates the Internet everywhere else.

Google has tried risking its departure from the country as it previously enraged the officials at Beijing after it announced in January last year that it does not complies to with Web censorship anymore. It attempted to dodge its fate but without a flagship local online presence, prediction has been made that Google will decline furthermore. Analysts now justify their prediction that "Chinese companies will think twice before they can have any kind of relationship with Google.”

Google, which is originally based in Mountain View, California, claims that it has seen great opportunity in China which it hopes to keep selling advertising on behalf of local websites or to other companies which are interested in reaching customers abroad through their international sites. Hence, Google was approved to have its advertising sales offices in China.

Having said that, Google still needs to tremendously hard on its relationship with the public and Beijing authorities, despite the Chinese authorities had reinstalled the Web censorship. Just last month Google accused the government for hindering access to its Gmail e-mail service and went on blaming them to have attempted to make the blockage seen seem like a technical problem, the allegations were completed denied by the  officials. Whereas, the government newspaper, Economic Daily published this week that three Google departments that deal with research and development, customer support and advertising are now under investigation for possible tax offenses. In reply to which Google also published their statement, claiming that "We believe we are, and always have been, in full compliance with Chinese tax law."

The clashes since last year indicate the complexity of Internet landscape in China, which strictly promotes the use of Internet only for business and education and is very harsh on controlling and blocking social media sites including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.