Google to resume talks with Chinese officials

Representatives of Google are expected to resume talks with Chinese officials about the search engine's business in China in the coming days, says a media report.

"Google Inc representatives are scheduled to resume discussions in coming days with Chinese officials about the fate of Google's China business," The Wall Street Journal has reported quoting people briefed on the matter.

In January, Google had threatened to close down its operations in China after discovering hacking attempts into email accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

The company had said it would not be censuring its Chinese search engine anymore.

The daily noted that the schedule and the status of the talks, which are being picked up after a break for the Chinese New Year holiday, are unclear.

Among Google officials handling the talks on the ground is Google policy executive, Ross LaJeunesse, the report said quoting people familiar with the matter.

"Any resolution to the matter of whether Google will be able to operate an unfiltered search engine in the country is likely to be at least weeks away," the publication added.

According to the daily, Chinese officials have repeatedly said that Google and other foreign companies operating in China must follow the country's rules, but the government has said nothing about any discussions with Google.