Facebook says its new unit in China will help software developers to innovate
As censorship controls harden under Xi Jinping, US tech firms with blocked content are looking for new ways to enter the market without drawing the ire of regulators
Beijing — Facebook has set up a subsidiary in China with registered capital of $30m, according to an official business registration, hinting that the US firm may be ramping up its presence in the restrictive market where its social media sites remain blocked. The subsidiary is registered in Hangzhou, home of e-commerce giant Alibaba, according to a filing approved on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System last week and seen by Reuters on Tuesday. "We are interested in setting up an innovation hub in Zhejiang to support Chinese developers, innovators and start-ups," a Facebook representative said via e-mail. Facebook’s website remains banned in China, which strictly censors foreign news outlets, search engines and social media including content from Twitter and Google. Having a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China does not change Facebook’s approach in the country, the company said, adding that it was still learning different approaches on what it took to...
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