BEIJING—The Chinese government won't limit the use of Google Inc.'s Android operating system for mobile devices by Chinese telecommunications operators, a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman said.
The comments were China's first official word on the future of the Android operating system since Google's announcement more than two weeks ago that it will stop obeying government censorship rules on its Chinese search site as a result of concerns over hacking and censorship. The spokesman's comments suggest the government might be open to letting parts of Google's business continue to function in China despite that announcement, which Google has said might require it to close its China offices.
Chinese media highlighted comments this week by Microsoft's Bill Gates that seemingly downplayed Beijing's Internet restrictions.
"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." MIIT spokesman Zhu Hongren said Wednesday at an annual news briefing.
There are several Android-based phones already in China, and the country's three major telecom carriers—all of which are state-owned—are planning more. Last week, Google said it was delaying the planned China launch of two mobile-phone models using Android. The phones, made in partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola Inc., were to be sold with carrier China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Phones running on Android vary. Some have software highly customized to the specification of handset partners and carriers, while others come packed with various Google features such as search and maps. Phones with fewer Google features will likely be less affected by the company's conflict with Beijing. Last week, Lenovo Group Ltd., China's biggest personal-computer company, said it is on track to launch a new smart phone using Android in May.
The Chinese government's comments about Android came as the state-run media featured comments by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates that played down China's Internet restrictions. Mr. Gates, in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" this week, said China's "efforts to censor the Internet have been very limited" and likened its controls to those of other countries.
On Wednesday, several Chinese newspapers gave the comments prominent display. "Bill Gates Bats for China," read the lead headline in the English edition of the Global Times, a tabloid published by the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official newspaper. The tabloid's Chinese version, which claims a daily circulation of 1.5 million, also devoted its front page to Mr. Gates's comments and to Western media reports of them, while China Daily, the country's main English-language paper, also highlighted the comments on page one.
Mr. Gates said the Internet has helped free expression and that in China it is "easy to go around" the government's system of controls. "And so I think keeping the Internet thriving there is very important," he added. He said other countries restrict some Web content, such as pornography, and noted that Germany censors statements related to the Nazi Party. "And so you've got to decide: Do you want to obey the laws of the countries you're in, or not?" the Microsoft co-founder told ABC host George Stephanopoulos on Monday.
Chinese officials have made similar statements, saying China's management of the Internet is in line with international practice and that foreign companies in China must obey its laws..
China's Internet controls go far beyond those of countries like Germany, censoring a wide range of politically sensitive content and blocking access entirely to foreign sites like YouTube and Facebook. Chinese authorities have arrested numerous dissidents for using the Internet to criticize the government, including Zhao Lianhai, who was jailed last year for running a Web site to help families like his whose children were poisoned by tainted milk powder made by government-owned companiesSimon Leung, who is head of Microsoft's China operations, declined to comment on the Chinese media's response to Mr. Gates's statements.
