Google looks to Scholar as spearhead to re-enter Chinese market
Google is in discussions with Beijing about re-entering the mainland Chinese market, with Google Scholar among the priority list for re-inclusion. The search engine for scholarly literature is likely to be the first Google-owned product to be allowed back in, as China focuses on creating avenues for academic progress. Google’s search engine removed access for mainland China in 2010 because of Beijing’s strict censorship on issues such as political discussion. Google aims to re-enter China to take advantage of its position as the world’s largest internet market, with 721 million users.
A woman walks past the logo of Google in front of its headquarters in Beijing in 2011. Google has been keen to return to China since it pulled out in 2010. Photo: Reuters