Microsoft censored Bing results and played by China’s rules. On Wednesday, that didn’t prove enough for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government, and the last major English-language search engine was blocked, joining most other major Western platforms. For companies looking to enter China’s market, that should be a clear warning: No matter how hard you try to play by the rules, Beijing makes the final call.
Microsoft did what other companies wouldn’t: It engaged with Beijing, worked with local companies, developed new products, and helped train a new generation of Chinese experts. It even did what Google received so much criticism for last year and ran a censored search engine that returned what the Chinese government wanted its people see for searches like “Tiananmen Square” or “Dalai Lama.”
