China Gives Android a Pass, as Long as It Keeps Its Nose Clean

The Chinese government won't block the use of Google's Android operating system on mobile phones in the country as long as the operating system abides by Chinese laws, a key government official said on Wednesday.

"As long as it complies with Chinese laws and regulations, and as long as it has good cooperation with operators ... their use of the system won't be limited," Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesperson Zhu Hongren said at a news briefing in Beijing, according to reports.

Zhu's comments represent the Chinese government's first statement about Android since the current standoff between Google and the nation's leadership began roughly two weeks ago.
Microsoft Speaks Out

Google announced earlier this month that it is rethinking its presence in China following a series of cyberattacks it said originated there.

Not long afterwards, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton referred to the incident in a speech on the topic of Internet freedom, calling on Chinese authorities to investigate the attacks and asserting that "censorship should not be in any way accepted by any company from anywhere."

Chinese government officials lashed out in response over the weekend, accusing the United States of maintaining a double standard on the issue. Since then, both Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates have spoken out to downplay China's Internet restrictions.

In the meantime, however, Google delayed the launch of two Android phones that were originally planned to be released in China last week, causing widespread speculation that the effects of its stand against China could extend past its search engine to harm the Android platform.