BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China said Thursday that its issues with Google should not be "over interpreted" or linked to Sino-U.S. relations.
"The Google case should not be linked with relations between the two governments and countries; otherwise, it's an over-interpretation," said Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei at a press conference.
If foreign companies, including Google, encountered difficulties in China, they should seek resolutions in accordance with Chinese law. The government was willing to help them solve relevant problems, he said.
His remarks came just nine days after Google said it might quit China.
Google's corporate development and chief legal officer, David Drummond, posted a statement on Jan. 12 on the company's official blog, saying it was "reviewing the feasibility of our business operations in China."
According to the statement, the disputes with the Chinese government on Internet regulation and major cyber attacks on the company allegedly originating from China had forced Google to consider exiting.
Google's statement sparked a worldwide focus on ties between China and the United States. Discussions included China's Internet environment, the China-U.S. trade relationship.
But China dismissed the links of Google case with the bilateral relationship.
"I think that should not be interpreted too much, and come up as something concerning the Chinese and U.S. governments," said He.
"When there is content concerning national security and unhealthiness, Internet supervision is normal," said He. "No matter what country, there is always supervision, and China is no exception.
"If foreign companies have different viewpoints with this regard, they should also seek solutions according to the law," said He.
China encouraged Internet enterprises to develop business in China, but "their development must follow Chinese law."
China has said that it firmly opposed and prohibited hacker attacks as China itself was the victim country of cyber attacks.
"China's Internet is seriously threatened by cyber attacks like other countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Tuesday.
According to the Internet Society of China, the number of cyber attacks from abroad saw a year-on-year increase of 148 percent in 2008. The website of China's largest search engine, Baidu.com, was temporarily paralyzed on Jan. 12 in the worst attack since it was established.
Also on Tuesday, Google China posted an entry on its own Chinese-language blog, www.googlechinablog.com, saying that Google China employees were working "as usual" in their Beijing offices.
Although the Internet giant had announced that it would negotiate certain issues with the Chinese government, Google China's employees were still trying to provide the best products and services for their clients, it said.
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