谷
歌(Google Inc.)表示可能因审查和网络攻击退出中国，反映出外国公司和政府越来越希望打破几十年与中国打交道过程中的一种固定思维：中国是一个大国，所以必须迁就。虽然美国这家互联网巨头的举动不太可能被其他大型外企效仿，但其出人意料的反抗肯定会激起一场有关对华商业关系的讨论。多年来，西方企业已经接受在中国的行商之道有其特殊性，即必须同意政府干预，包括扼杀自由言论、建立基层党组织等，而这在其他地方是不能容忍的。在过去一代人的时间里，外国政界领袖也得出了一个类似的结论，因而选择低调处理人权问题，希望能带来变化。
但正如谷歌的举动所显示的，中国崛起之际，它因为一些违背国际惯例、让西方觉得越来越不舒服的政策与做法，同外部世界的关系越来越紧张。在经济方面，北京压低本币汇率，补贴出口，以人为的低价同其他国家抢生意，已经让很多贸易伙伴感到气恼。
政治上，一些国家因为人权事件与中国产生隔阂，这些事件包括一位澳大利亚籍矿业公司高管被捕后又被单独关押七个月，以及一位在西方被普遍认为患有精神疾病的英国籍男子因贩卖毒品而遭处决。就是气候变化问题，中国也受到责难，外国外交人士罕见地表示中国使最近哥本哈根协议的成果缩水。
中国欧盟商会(European Union Chamber of Commerce in China)主席伍德克(Joerg Wuttke)说，人人都觉得事不关己，但当事情一件接一件地发生时，你会问这里究竟是出了什么问题。
做出这种反思的理由之一是，据谷歌称，来自中国的黑客突破了它的安全屏障，同样被突破的还有其他多个行业的很多外国公司，包括金融、科技、传媒和化工行业。谷歌表示，它正在与这些相关企业联系，但到目前为止，这些公司的名字一个都还没有透露。
某金融企业的一位高管说，这让人担心，因为各公司已经感到，在中国，它们的专利技术很容易被盗取。
谷歌的指称已经引起政界高层的反应，美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)要求中国对谷歌的指称做“解释”。希拉里说，对网络空间运作的信任对一个现代社会和经济体非常重要。
谷歌事件背后，是外国企业对商务环境不断恶化的越来越多的抱怨。中国欧盟商会和中国美国商会(U.S. Chamber of Commerce in China)都曾发表报告，对中国的商务环境提出尖锐的批评。上世纪八、九十年代，外企在中国领导人的竭力讨好下，给中国带来了技术、培训和国际先进经验。
但在近些年，外国企业抱怨说，官方的方针已经发生了变化。伍德克说，年轻的官员民族主义情绪更加强烈，对允许外企进入的好处也更加怀疑。比如在去年，就有外企高管称风能招标过程中存在排除外资公司的现象。
曾著书谈论在华行商问题的安可顾问公司(APCO Worldwide)高级咨询师麦健陆(James McGregor)说，外企圈子里存在着一种普遍的看法，那就是在这里做生意越来越难了。他说，此事可能成为一种开端。
即便在商业领域，由于公司担心惹恼监管部门，因此与中国政府的公开冲突是极其罕见的，但去年，还是发生了两件由政府动议引发的外国商业团体与政府之间的严重对峙。一次是在去年6月份，由于中国政府试图强制要求个人电脑生产厂家预装“绿坝”网络过滤软件，代表数十家大型技术公司的外国商业团体公开对此提出批评，并呼吁中国领导层重新考虑这一决定。后来，中国政府在7月1日原计划启动前夕宣布将其无限期推迟。
去年晚些时候，类似公司及商业团体联合起来再次以公开方式反对中国要求政府机构优先购买拥有本土知识产权产品的做法。这些公司说这一规定是歧视性的，而且具有保护主义色彩。现在这一问题仍未得到解决。
这些公司说，此类问题是在中国做生意所特有的。台湾无线及宽带设备开发商友讯科技股份有限公司(D-link Corp.)的中国业务副总裁Vito Lin说，为了扶植本土公司，政府会对国内企业的违规操作睁一只眼、闭一只眼，比如说不开税票就是其一。
不过，一些分析师告诫说谷歌和中国政府的摩擦也有可能是出于商业方面的考虑。智威汤逊广告公司(J. Walter Thompson)董事总经理唐锐涛(Tom Doctoroff)说，谷歌在中国拥有35%、而且还在不断上升的市场份额，但它的盈利性却有讨论的余地。中国网民相对很少涉足电子商务领域，这就制约了谷歌等公司的盈利能力。唐锐涛说，我们不应该忽视谷歌在渗透中国市场时遇到的运作难题。
另一些对谷歌的解释持怀疑态度的人指出，谷歌在2006年时是把网络审查制度作为进入中国市场的前提条件加以接受的。谷歌在其图书数字化项目中还屈服于中国政府的怒气，并因为扫描了一位中国女作家的部分作品而进行了道歉。谷歌在其他国家从未有此举动，因为它往往是在不支付版权费用的情况下扫描书籍。
和其他公司比起来，谷歌退出中国的决定也会容易做一些。虽然谷歌在中国的业务一直在增长，但据估算，中国只不过为谷歌的总收入贡献了几个百分点。这和将中国视为关键市场的通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)等公司形成了鲜明对比。
即便在谷歌2005年正式进入中国市场之前，公司就为其中国策略感到过纠结。公司联合创始人、在孩提时代随家人从前苏联移民来美的赛吉•布林(Sergey Brin)曾表达过对中国业务的谨慎看法。布林在2006年6月时对记者说，我们认为，或许我们可以在原则上做出让步，但这最终会为中国人提供更多信息、并带来更有效的服务，而且会促成更大的改变。但他当时补充说道，做出另一种决定也是非常合情合理的，我们可以说：好吧，我们要坚持自己反对网络审查的原则，不会在当地开展业务。
微软(Microsoft Corp.)一位高管说，谷歌退出中国市场将伤及中国网民，因为与它的中国本土竞争对手百度(Baidu)以及其他中国门户网站相比，谷歌对搜索结果的审查更为宽松；谷歌的离开将令中国网民失去了一个好的选择。
在中国国内，一些互联网活跃分子对谷歌事件的爆发感到高兴。中国最早的博客作者之一毛向辉(Isaac Mao)说，我认为这对中国政府是一个严峻挑战。他说，谷歌撤离中国可以使它得以运用自己的技术专长为用户开发出能绕开互联网审查的工具；谷歌拥有足够的运算能力实现这一目标。
毛向辉说，中国政府如果因谷歌不愿继续内容审查（就像拒绝绿坝那样）而对它采取行动的话，只会让更多的人认识到互联网审查的问题；我今天在博客和论坛中已经看到了许多网民的反馈，这对谷歌来说绝对是正确之举，我为它喝彩。
Ian Johnson / Jason Dean
（更新完成）
Google Inc.'s threat to withdraw from China over censorship and cyberspying is a sign of a growing willingness among foreign companies and governments to overturn the conventional wisdom that has defined decades of engagement by the West: that China is so big that it must be accommodated.
While the U.S. Internet giant's move isn't likely to be emulated by other big foreign companies, its unexpected defiance is certain to fuel debate over business relations with China. For years, Western companies have accepted that business is done a certain way in China -- agreeing to government interference that wouldn't be tolerated elsewhere, from stifling free speech to setting up Communist Party cells. And over the past generation, outside political leaders have drawn a similar conclusion, choosing to play down human rights in the hopes of effecting change.
This has been driven by China's rapidly increasing importance. Already the largest market for everything from cellphones to a range of commodities, China surpassed the U.S. last year as the biggest market for cars. It supplanted Germany as the world's top exporter, and is on pace to pass Japan this year as the second-biggest economy after the U.S.
But as Google's move shows, China's rise is being accompanied by growing tension with the outside world over policies and practices that defy international norms and that many in the West are finding more unpalatable. On the economic front, Beijing has frustrated many trading partners by keeping its currency low and subsidizing exports, policies that undercut other countries by making China's goods artificially cheap.
Politically, countries have been alienated by a string of human-rights issues, from an Australian mining executive arrested and held incommunicado for seven months to a British man widely regarded in the West as mentally ill being executed for drug trafficking. Even climate change is being laid at China's door, with foreign diplomats taking the rare step of saying China watered down the recent Copenhagen accord.
'Everybody feels that it's not related to my business,' says Jorg Wuttke, head of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. 'But when one after the other happens, you wonder what the heck is going on here.'
One reason for the reassessment is that Google claims that China-based hackers breached its security -- and that of many other foreign companies in a variety of sectors, including finance, technology, media and chemicals. Google said it was contacting the companies involved but so far no names have surfaced.
'It's a worry because companies already feel they are vulnerable in China to having their proprietary technology stolen,' said an executive at a finance company.
The allegations have already caused a high-level political reaction, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on China 'for an explanation' of Google's allegations. 'The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy,' Mrs. Clinton said.
The Google syndrome caps growing complaints by foreign businesses over a deteriorating business environment. Both the European Chamber and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in China have issued reports sharply critical of China's business environment. During the 1980s and '90s, foreign businesses were assiduously courted by China's leaders and responded by bringing to China technology, training and international best practices.
In recent years, however, foreign businesses have complained that the official line has shifted. Younger bureaucrats are more nationalistic and skeptical of the value of letting in foreign companies, Mr. Wuttke says. Last year, for example, foreign executives said bidding practices for wind energy were rigged to exclude foreign companies.
'There's a general attitude in the foreign business community that it's getting tougher to do business here,' said James McGregor, a senior counselor at APCO Worldwide and author of a book on doing business in China. 'This could be a bellwether.'
Even in the business world, where open conflicts with the government are extremely rare because companies fear angering regulators, last year saw two major confrontations between authorities and foreign businesses over government initiatives. When the Chinese government in June tried to force personal computer makers to include Web-filtering software known as 'Green Dam' with all new PCs in China, foreign business groups representing scores of major technology companies publicly criticized the move and called on China's leadership to reconsider. Authorities announced an indefinite delay to the plan on the eve of its July 1 start date.
Then, late in the year, a similar group of companies and business groups banded together to decry -- again publicly -- government rules that state agencies buy technology products containing domestic intellectual property. The companies said the measure was discriminatory and protectionist. That issue remains unresolved.
Companies say these problems are endemic to doing business in China. 'In order to cultivate local companies, the government has been loose on local companies' illegal practices, such as not issuing tax invoices,' said Vito Lin, vice president of China operations for D-link Corp., a wireless and broadband devices developer from Taiwan.
Some analysts caution, however, that Google's troubles with China might also be connected to business concerns. Google enjoys a 35% market share in China, a figure that is growing, but its profitability is open to question, says Tom Doctoroff, managing director of J. Walter Thompson. Chinese Internet users engage in relatively little e-commerce, which stymies the ability of companies like Google to make money. 'We should not ignore the operational difficulties that Google has had in penetrating this market,' Mr. Doctoroff said.
Other skeptics of Google's explanation noted that the company accepted censorship in 2006 as a pre-condition for entering the China market. It also deferred to government anger over its plan to digitalize books and apologized to a Chinese author for scanning parts of her book -- a step it hasn't taken in other countries, where it routinely scans books without paying copyright fees.
Google would have an easier time quitting China than other companies. Although its business there has been growing, it is estimated to be only a few percentage points of its total revenues. That is a sharp contrast to companies like General Motors Corp., for which China is a crucial market.
Even before Google's entry into China in 2005, the company was agonizing over its strategy. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose family left the Soviet Union when he was a child, expressed caution over China. 'We felt that perhaps we could compromise our principles but provide ultimately more information for the Chinese and be a more-effective service and perhaps make more of a difference,' Mr. Brin told reporters in June 2006. But, he added at the time, 'It's perfectly reasonable to do something different, to say, 'Look, we're going to stand by the principle against censorship and we won't actually operate there.' '
A senior Microsoft Corp. executive said that 'Google would do disservice to Chinese people' by leaving China because Google censors its Chinese search results less aggressively than Chinese local competitor Baidu and other Chinese portal companies. A pullout by Google would strip Chinese Internet users of a good alternative, the executive said.
Inside China, some Internet activists were elated by the news. 'I think this is a big challenge to the Chinese government now,' said Isaac Mao, a blogging pioneer in China. He said removing itself from the Chinese market would enable Google to use its superior technology to create tools for users to circumvent Internet censorship. Google has 'enough computing power to do that,' he said.
Mr. Mao says that any government action against Google for discontinuing its content filtering will, like the Green Dam incident, 'cause more people to be aware of the censorship problem.' 'I have seen lots of responses from Internet users today, in blogs and forums,' he said. 'It's definitely a good move from Google. I applaud that.
Ian Johnson / Jason Dean
While the U.S. Internet giant's move isn't likely to be emulated by other big foreign companies, its unexpected defiance is certain to fuel debate over business relations with China. For years, Western companies have accepted that business is done a certain way in China -- agreeing to government interference that wouldn't be tolerated elsewhere, from stifling free speech to setting up Communist Party cells. And over the past generation, outside political leaders have drawn a similar conclusion, choosing to play down human rights in the hopes of effecting change.
This has been driven by China's rapidly increasing importance. Already the largest market for everything from cellphones to a range of commodities, China surpassed the U.S. last year as the biggest market for cars. It supplanted Germany as the world's top exporter, and is on pace to pass Japan this year as the second-biggest economy after the U.S.
But as Google's move shows, China's rise is being accompanied by growing tension with the outside world over policies and practices that defy international norms and that many in the West are finding more unpalatable. On the economic front, Beijing has frustrated many trading partners by keeping its currency low and subsidizing exports, policies that undercut other countries by making China's goods artificially cheap.
Politically, countries have been alienated by a string of human-rights issues, from an Australian mining executive arrested and held incommunicado for seven months to a British man widely regarded in the West as mentally ill being executed for drug trafficking. Even climate change is being laid at China's door, with foreign diplomats taking the rare step of saying China watered down the recent Copenhagen accord.
'Everybody feels that it's not related to my business,' says Jorg Wuttke, head of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. 'But when one after the other happens, you wonder what the heck is going on here.'
One reason for the reassessment is that Google claims that China-based hackers breached its security -- and that of many other foreign companies in a variety of sectors, including finance, technology, media and chemicals. Google said it was contacting the companies involved but so far no names have surfaced.
'It's a worry because companies already feel they are vulnerable in China to having their proprietary technology stolen,' said an executive at a finance company.
The allegations have already caused a high-level political reaction, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on China 'for an explanation' of Google's allegations. 'The ability to operate with confidence in cyberspace is critical in a modern society and economy,' Mrs. Clinton said.
The Google syndrome caps growing complaints by foreign businesses over a deteriorating business environment. Both the European Chamber and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in China have issued reports sharply critical of China's business environment. During the 1980s and '90s, foreign businesses were assiduously courted by China's leaders and responded by bringing to China technology, training and international best practices.
In recent years, however, foreign businesses have complained that the official line has shifted. Younger bureaucrats are more nationalistic and skeptical of the value of letting in foreign companies, Mr. Wuttke says. Last year, for example, foreign executives said bidding practices for wind energy were rigged to exclude foreign companies.
'There's a general attitude in the foreign business community that it's getting tougher to do business here,' said James McGregor, a senior counselor at APCO Worldwide and author of a book on doing business in China. 'This could be a bellwether.'
Even in the business world, where open conflicts with the government are extremely rare because companies fear angering regulators, last year saw two major confrontations between authorities and foreign businesses over government initiatives. When the Chinese government in June tried to force personal computer makers to include Web-filtering software known as 'Green Dam' with all new PCs in China, foreign business groups representing scores of major technology companies publicly criticized the move and called on China's leadership to reconsider. Authorities announced an indefinite delay to the plan on the eve of its July 1 start date.
Then, late in the year, a similar group of companies and business groups banded together to decry -- again publicly -- government rules that state agencies buy technology products containing domestic intellectual property. The companies said the measure was discriminatory and protectionist. That issue remains unresolved.
Companies say these problems are endemic to doing business in China. 'In order to cultivate local companies, the government has been loose on local companies' illegal practices, such as not issuing tax invoices,' said Vito Lin, vice president of China operations for D-link Corp., a wireless and broadband devices developer from Taiwan.
Some analysts caution, however, that Google's troubles with China might also be connected to business concerns. Google enjoys a 35% market share in China, a figure that is growing, but its profitability is open to question, says Tom Doctoroff, managing director of J. Walter Thompson. Chinese Internet users engage in relatively little e-commerce, which stymies the ability of companies like Google to make money. 'We should not ignore the operational difficulties that Google has had in penetrating this market,' Mr. Doctoroff said.
Other skeptics of Google's explanation noted that the company accepted censorship in 2006 as a pre-condition for entering the China market. It also deferred to government anger over its plan to digitalize books and apologized to a Chinese author for scanning parts of her book -- a step it hasn't taken in other countries, where it routinely scans books without paying copyright fees.
Google would have an easier time quitting China than other companies. Although its business there has been growing, it is estimated to be only a few percentage points of its total revenues. That is a sharp contrast to companies like General Motors Corp., for which China is a crucial market.
Even before Google's entry into China in 2005, the company was agonizing over its strategy. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose family left the Soviet Union when he was a child, expressed caution over China. 'We felt that perhaps we could compromise our principles but provide ultimately more information for the Chinese and be a more-effective service and perhaps make more of a difference,' Mr. Brin told reporters in June 2006. But, he added at the time, 'It's perfectly reasonable to do something different, to say, 'Look, we're going to stand by the principle against censorship and we won't actually operate there.' '
A senior Microsoft Corp. executive said that 'Google would do disservice to Chinese people' by leaving China because Google censors its Chinese search results less aggressively than Chinese local competitor Baidu and other Chinese portal companies. A pullout by Google would strip Chinese Internet users of a good alternative, the executive said.
Inside China, some Internet activists were elated by the news. 'I think this is a big challenge to the Chinese government now,' said Isaac Mao, a blogging pioneer in China. He said removing itself from the Chinese market would enable Google to use its superior technology to create tools for users to circumvent Internet censorship. Google has 'enough computing power to do that,' he said.
Mr. Mao says that any government action against Google for discontinuing its content filtering will, like the Green Dam incident, 'cause more people to be aware of the censorship problem.' 'I have seen lots of responses from Internet users today, in blogs and forums,' he said. 'It's definitely a good move from Google. I applaud that.
Ian Johnson / Jason Dean
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