I take Google's statement at their word.  If its no longer feasible to compete in China, they know and will make the best decision for themselves.<p>As to corruption in China, it certainly exists.  If you come from the U.S. and have never been privy to the payoffs that do occur in the U.S., seeing it so much more open in China can be shocking.  U.S. companies may not be legally allowed to make payoffs, but they certainly do.  Its also illegal in China.  If Google China has never paid kickbacks, they would be the first company of their size in China I have known to not do so.<p>One thing I've noticed in Shanghai is that businesses in competitive markets are increasingly not giving kickbacks as its simply not profitable to compete in some markets this way anymore.  Additionally, there are many (not saying its the majority) Chinese business men and women that take great pride in running a clean business.  For every Chinese dissident whose email the gov wants to snoop on, there exist many hard working people "doing the right thing".  I've witnessed my Chinese wife run businesses and she would never payoff a business partner or gov official.  She would fire any staff member she suspected of doing so.<p>Yes, its complex and sometimes risky to do business in China, but for the most part the net change is positive.  This net positive change may not stay that way, but the only reasonable hope is that it will.