Microsoft Corp chief executive officer Satya Nadella visited China for the first time since taking the post in February, state media said yesterday, as Chinese authorities probe the US technology giant for alleged monopoly behavior.
The China Daily newspaper reported Nadella “extended an olive branch to Chinese regulators” in Beijing on Thursday by saying the company was willing to work with officials.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the visit.
Nadella was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Microsoft has made contributions to the Chinese economy.
“The fundamental success of Microsoft was based on the value we create in every place that we operate in,” he said.
“We were able to come into China and will continue to contribute and cooperate with governments,” he added.
China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce said in July that it was investigating Microsoft for “monopoly actions” related to its flagship Windows operating system and Office suite of software.
The agency’s head said last month the probe includes the way the US technology giant distributes its media player and browser.
Microsoft has said it complies with Chinese law. It has previously faced antitrust investigations in other markets for tying the company’s Windows system to its other products.
Nadella spoke at Tsinghua University in Beijing on Thursday, the China Daily said.
He was scheduled to travel to the southern city of Shenzhen yesterday, the report said.
His two-day trip includes meetings with government officials, it said, but did not identify them.
Microsoft is due to offer its Xbox One game console in China on Monday — a week delay from the original launch date — becoming the first such product to enter the market in 14 years after the government relaxed a ban provided the devices are assembled in the Shanghai free-trade zone.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last