Blocked Internet firms on Chinese charm offensive

Wooing the Chinese crowd: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google are all blocked in China but that has not stopped Silicon Valley CEOs from becoming frequent visitors to China as they attempt to warm Beijing up to the possibility of doing business in the Middle Kingdom.

BEIJING: Google, Facebook and Twitter are all banned in China, but the Internet giants’ top executives are increasingly frequent visitors to Beijing as they seek opportunity and profit from the world’s second-largest economy, despite concerns over censorship. 

Google terminated most of its operations in mainland China in 2010 after controversy over the country’s online controls and an attack on users of its Gmail service.