Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the company is staying in China regardless of what Google does.
Questioned yesterday on whether MS would present a united front with Google in its spat with the Chinese Government, Ballmer replied: “I don’t understand how a Google pull out helps anything. I don’t understand how that helps us and I don’t understand how that helps China.
“There are attacks every day. I don’t think there was anything unusual, so I don’t understand,” he said, “We’re attacked every day from all parts of the world and I think everybody else is too. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
Cynics might observe that China is one of the few territories where Google doesn’t dominate the search engine market, having just 30 percent market share.
Microsoft’s own search offering, Bing would benefit considerably should Google shut up shop.
Ballmer’s remarks will be greeted with some dismay by those hoping other US technology outfits would stand shoulder to shoulder with Google following calls from senior Republicans for US blue chip companies to speak out against Chinese censorship.
China still shows no sign of backing down on its demands that all searches should be censored to maintain the “stability and harmony” of the Chinese nation.
