SHANGHAI – Microsoft Corp.has the most likely customer of TikTok’s U.S. operations, the popular Chinese short-video app that U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to ban for national security reasons.
An agreement would be consistent with Microsoft’s position on China, where the company has a significant presence: other US-generation heavyweights such as Alphabet Inc., Facebook Inc, and Google, which appear to have left the Chinese customer market with its combination of government restrictions.
The country accounts for more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Microsoft President Brad Smith said this year.
WHAT IS MICROSOFT DOING IN CHINA?
Microsoft employs roughly 6,000 people in the country, with offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Suzhou.
Its flagship Windows trading formula is widely used, profits have long been limited through piracy. In recent years, the company has grown its Azure cloud computing product, introduced in 2013 through a partnership with 21Vianet corporate on-premises knowledge facilities.
China’s cybersecurity law limits Microsoft to offering Azure software and while 21Vianet manages related knowledge centers. It is a small player in a sector governed by local suppliers Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings Ltd and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.
Microsoft operates its Bing search engine and its social network LinkedIn in China, once once again being a small player compared to local giants.
Its maximum operation in China is probably Microsoft Research Asia, noted as a leader in synthetic intelligence (AI).
Founded in 1998 with famous Taiwanese-American artificial intelligence scientist Kaifu Lee, who then ran Google’s workplace in China, the lab produced alumni who later became executives to TikTok ByteDance owner Baidu, Xiaomi Corp and Chinese facial popularity unicorns.
IS MICROSOFT AUTOCENSOR IN CHINA?
Bing and LinkedIn in China look like their global counterparts, however, Microsoft censors are looking for effects and content that the Chinese government considers sensitive.
At the launch of LinkedIn in China in 2014, two years before Microsoft bought the company, Jeff Weiner, then a leader at the time, said that content censorship would be “necessary” for the company to grow up in the country.
In 2019, free speech advocates criticized LinkedIn’s position on censorship after human rights activist Zhou Fengsuo said his profile was not viewable in China. LinkedIn blamed an “error” and restored its visibility.
Software development website GitHub, which Microsoft purchased in 2019, is also accessible from China. The site, a coding repository, has been used by activists in China to preserve internet content before authorities censor the source.
WAS MICROSOFT ELIMINATED WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT?
Microsoft has lamented Windows’s endemic piracy in China for decades and has filed lawsuits and complaints, even opposing state-backed corporations to address their concerns.
His most notable fight with the government came here in 2014, when the government raided 4 Microsoft offices that were not easy to hire and other data as a component of an antitrust investigation.
In the same year, he asked all agencies to ban the acquisition of Windows 8 for security reasons.
Microsoft, however, released an edition of the “Chinese government” of Windows 10 after a joint venture formed in 2015 with the state-owned China Electronics Technology Corp.
WHAT ABOUT BILL GATES?
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has talked overwhelmingly about China in recent years. In November, he held a public assembly with Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping.
Also expired last year, Gates criticized U.S. government restrictions on telecom device manufacturer Huawei and discussed sharing the Windows source code with the Chinese government, which facilitated official acceptance of the software in the country.
He praised China’s reaction to COVID-19, which earned xi’s public thanks, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $5 million to China for COVID-19.
The foundation is one of few overseas charities or non-governmental organizations to maintain operations in China, where it has worked with the government and academic institutions against diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. (Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Sign up for news from Saskatoon StarPhoenix, a department of Postmedia Network Inc.
An error has occurred, provide a valid email address.
A welcome email is on the way. If you don’t see it, check your unwanted folder.
The next factor from The StarPhoenix Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We found a challenge when you signed up. Please check again
Postmedia is committed to remaining a civilized discussion forum and encouraging all readers to express their views in percentage on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to moderate before appearing on the site. We ask that you keep your comments applicable and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications. You will now receive an email if you get a reaction to your comment, an update to a comment thread that follows, or if a user follows it. Check out our network regulations for more data and main points on how to adjust your email settings.
365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4
© 2020 The Star Phoenix, a department of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized dissemination, transmission or transmission is strictly prohibited.
This uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads) and allows us to analyze our traffic. Learn more about cookies here. By using our site, you agree to our terms of use and our privacy policy.