Beijing: China sought on Friday to play down a threat by Google Inc. to quit the country on hacking and censorship concerns, saying any decision by the Internet search giant would not affect US trade ties.

The United States said it was too soon to tell how economic ties would be affected, but added free information flow was crucial to China’s maturing economy.

Google China Office

A spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry said there were many ways to resolve the Google issue, but repeated that all foreign companies, Google included, must abide by Chinese laws.

“Any decision made by Google will not affect Sino-US trade and economic relations, as the two sides have many ways to communicate and negotiate with each other,” spokesman Yao Jian told a regular news briefing in Beijing.

“We are confident about developing healthy trade and economic ties with the United States.”

The issue risks becoming another irritant in China’s relationship with the United States, already strained by arguments over the Chinese currency’s exchange rate, trade protectionism and US arms sales to Taiwan.

The United States has backed Google’s decision to no longer support China’s censoring of Internet searches, and has raised the issue at a diplomatic level. “It seems to me that the principles that Google is trying to uphold are not just important in a moral or rights framework, but are also of very considerable economic importance,” senior White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said.

“I think it’s too early to assess what all of the effects will be,” he added when asked if the dispute would mark a turning point in the US economic relationship with China.

- Reuters