China: Google Incident Shouldn't US Hinder Relationship

21 January 2010

A senior Chinese official says the current dispute with U.S. -based Internet giant Google should not be "over-interpreted" as a sign of Beijing's relationship with Washington.

State-run Xinhua news agency says Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei made the remarks Thursday in Beijing.

Google announced last week that may end its operations in China due to censorship concerns, and a cyber attack targeting the Google-based e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

China says it does not condone cyber attacks, but added that all foreign companies, including Google, must comply with all local laws, regulations and customs, including government controls over the Internet.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will unveil the the Obama administration's policies towards Internet freedom during a speech Thursday in Washington.