Facebook has quietly set up shop in China, despite its sites being blocked there | City A.M.
Facebook has opened a subsidiary with $30m (£22.2m) in registered capital in China, using its Hong Kong business as the sole shareholder.
An official business registration was filed for the company in Hangzhou last week, Reuters first reported. Its operations will include network information technology development and related services, investment consultancy and marketing planning.
Facebook’s social media site remains blocked by the Chinese government, which imposes strict censors on foreign news outlets. Search engine Google is also banned in the country, as well as Twitter and Facebook-owned messaging service Whatsapp.
The news marks a move by Facebook in the footsteps of other tech firms looking to increase their presence in China, without sparking criticism from government.
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Most have turned to manufacturing, research and development efforts that could fall under President Xi Jinping’s Made In China plan, which seeks to boost local industry through innovation by 2025.
Google recently launched an artificial intelligence lab in the country, in addition to making several apps dedicated to the Chinese market. According to Reuters, Apple has also “heavily modified” its app stores to comply with Chinese censorship restrictions over the past year.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla announced plans earlier this month to build a gigafactory in Shanghai that could produce 500,000 cars per year. The company has so far built roughly 18,000 cars in 2018.
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