01-Aug-18, Bloomberg
Google’s plans for China are even more ambitious than previously understood. The internet giant is in talks with Tencent, Inspur Group and other Chinese companies to offer its cloud services in the world's second-largest economy. Discussions began in early 2018 and Google narrowed partnership candidates to three firms in late March.
%20Qilai%20Shen_Bloomberg.jpg "Google Is in Talks With Tencent and Inspur for China Cloud (c) Qilai Shen Bloomberg")
Image: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
The disclosure comes just days after the revelation that Google is developing a version of its search engine for China that would block information the Beijing government considers sensitive. The prospect of one of the most powerful American corporations bending to China's will drew immediate condemnation in Washington.
China requires digital information to be stored in the country and Google has no data centers in the mainland, so it needs partnerships with local players.