The only thing that I wonder (and fear) about this piece -- is whether this is the only slant on the story that Chinese citizens will be allowed to access.
I suspect that's unlikely. Google and it's country specific domains are the most trafficked sites on the internet. The level of visibility is too high to make examples of anyone. Worst case scenario they block access and carry on like nothing changed. Best case, China realizes it must make certain concessions if it wants to continue growing it's economy and fostering competition. There is no reason India should be the only billion person democracy.
How exactly does Google help grow China's economy? I don't really think China cares much for Google -- not the people or the govt. They won't care to lose them. I don't see any evidence that they will. Baidu can take care of whatever crumbs Google leaves behind.
Check out alibaba.com, the website basically do SEO on Google and it visions itself as a bridge for small business owner in China (manufacturers) to the global market. By the way, it is a listed company in Hong Kong.
I use alibaba, but I didn't get there through google. Nonetheless, it's a good example, except that the google that is referring people to alibaba is the US google.
I should have been clear, how is google.cn benefitting google's economy in a way that isn't also being covered by baidu or any other search engine for that matter?
It benefits Chinese users to have competition between Baidu and Google. Otherwise, there's no reason for improvement. China want's to have a part in the information economy, not just the manufacturing economy.
I believe improvement is valuable for the sake of improvement. I don't believe competition is the only reason for improvement. See my comment here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1213199
Maybe a few centuries into the future, but at this stage we're still focused on market economies. In your other post you mention betamax vs VHS. You can build a superior product, but if it's cost is too high it won't fit the market need. Baidu has captured significant market share in China and has little reason to spend money innovating. Google has global market share and can continue to compete and innovate in other markets without the Chinese.
