Google has announced that it will open a research and development center in Shanghai, as it attempts to take on Chinese search powerhouse Baidu.

The centre will open on June 25, and will be used to develop technology relating to Chinese-language Internet searches, according to Google spokesperson, Cui Jin, speaking to The Wall Street Journal.

Google did not specify how much it will be investing in the new R&D center, though CEO Eric Schmidt has said that he wants Google to be a major player in the Chinese search market.

At the moment, search in China is dominated by Baidu, which is known to investors outside China as “China’s Google”. No doubt Google would prefer itself to be known as China’s Google. 

Currently Baidu generates about three times more Internet-search revenue than Google in China.

According to China commentator Gareth Powell, Baidu has a slightly different business model than Google.  

“Baidu does what Google does, but with a bit of Yahoo! and perhaps eBay thrown it,” he said.

In January Baidu was granted an Internet news content service license, which allows Baidu to do its own reporting rather than simply show news search results.

“This gives Baidu a clear edge in terms of content over competitors who lack the permit,” said Powell.

The name “Baidu” came from a poem written more than 800 years ago during the Chinese Song Dynasty.

According to company, the poem compares the search for retreating beauty amid chaotic glamour with the search for one’s dream while confronted by life’s many obstacles. Baidu, whose literal meaning is hundreds of times, represents the persistent search for the ideal.

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Entry was posted on Sunday, June 17th, 2007 at 11:43 am under Google.

Read more entries by John Pospisil.
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