People’s Daily welcomes Google back to China but stipulates it must observe local laws

Google is working on a filtered search engine in China eight years after its previous departure from the country.

People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, posted a commentary on its Twitter and Facebook accounts, which welcomes US internet giant Google back to mainland China as long as it complies with the relevant laws. The commentary had previously been published by its sister tabloid newspaper Global Times over the weekend.

Google is working on a filtered search engine in China eight years after its previous departure from the country, although approval will be down to Chinese regulators, a person familiar with the plans told the South China Morning Post earlier.