China today sought to contain tension with the United States over online censorship and hacking, saying Google's dispute with Beijing should not be over-stated, ahead of a possible challenge from Washington on Internet freedom.
Comments by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei appeared to be part of an effort to downplay disputes and avoid further straining ties with Washington. Relations are already troubled by quarrels over trade, Taiwan and human rights.
A speech by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Internet freedom planned for Washington today could be seen in Beijing as throwing down a gauntlet, a week after search engine giant Google said it had been the target of sophisticated cyber-spying from China.
"The Google incident should not be linked to bilateral relations, otherwise that would be over-interpreting it," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr He as telling Chinese reporters.
"In the year that Obama has been in office, the development of China-US relations has been basically stable," He added.
The minister seemed to be seeking to play down potential fallout from the Google dispute, which could compound tensions with Washington as Congress heads into an election year.
China welcomes foreign Internet companies but demands they comply with Chinese law, the vice foreign minister said.
"If Google or other foreign firms have any problems in China, these should be resolved according to Chinese law, and the Chinese government is willing to help resolve their problems."
Google, the world's top search engine, said it may shut its Chinese-language google.cn website and offices in China after a cyber-attack originating from China that also targeted others.
Google said it no longer wanted to censor its Chinese Google.cn search site and wanted to talk with Beijing about offering a legal, unfiltered Chinese site. Searches for sensitive topics on google.cn are still largely being censored.
Many in China see Google's ultimatum as a business tactic because its market share trails the popular Chinese search site Baidu. Despite extensive public debate of the Google issue in China, hacking has been rarely mentioned in official media.
"Managing the Internet is a matter of national security. A lot of countries practise oversight of the Internet, and so does China. It is a very normal thing," Mr He said.
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked in China.
Reuters
