BEIJING: US web giant Google said, that its licence to operate in China, the world’s largest Internet market, has been renewed.
“We have got the renewal,” Google’s Beijing-based spokeswoman Marsha Wang said.
“We are very pleased we got the ICP (Internet Content Provider) annual renewal. We are very pleased we can continue to provide products and services to our users.”
The renewal comes after a period of uncertainty over the licence and follows a standoff between the US Internet giant and Beijing over state censorship.
In March, Google said it would no longer bow to government censors and effectively shut down its Chinese search engine, re-routing mainland users to its uncensored site in Hong Kong.
But last week, the company reversed that decision out of concerns for the renewal of its licence.
Currently all mainland users are directed to a new landing page on google.cn, a website in China that now has links to the Hong Kong site. Google has said it believes this approach complies with Chinese law.
