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Google huddles with Tencent on bringing cloud to China

Erica Pandey, author of @Work

Employees outside Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen, China on Chinese New Year. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Google is in talks with major Chinese companies Tencent and Inspur to bring its cloud business to China, Bloomberg reports.

The big picture: Google is eager to tap into the Chinese market. Partnering with China's domestic champions would lock in powerful allies if Google has to lobby the Chinese government to let it operate in the country.

The details: China requires data to be stored within the country, and Google does not have data centers there, so it needs local partners to bring Drive and other cloud services to Chinese consumers. Bloomberg reports that talks with Chinese companies have been ongoing since early 2018.

What's happening:

  • Google is "building a cloud data center region in Hong Kong this year and opened an artificial intelligence research center in Beijing in January," per Bloomberg.
  • The Intercept reported on Wednesday that Google has been working on a censored search engine for the Chinese market, which grabbed the attention of Google employees and lawmakers alike.
  • Google is also working on a news-aggregation app with censorship capabilities for China, reports The Information, citing sources familiar with the project.

Yes, but: The U.S. and China are engaged in a quickly-escalating trade war that could have consequences for any potential Google deals.

Go deeper: The Atlantic reports on why Google left China — and why it's heading back.

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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) fronts a Fridays For Future protest at the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm in September. Photo: Jonathan Nacksrtrand/AFP via Getty Images

64% of people from around the world say climate change is a global emergency, a United Nations poll published Wednesday finds.

Why it matters: It's biggest global survey on climate change ever conducted, with some 1.2 million participants from 50 countries — including the U.S. where 65% of those surveyed view climate change as an emergency.

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Collins helps contractor before pro-Susan PAC gets donation

Sen. Susan Collins during her reelection campaign. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

A PAC backing Sen. Susan Collins in her high-stakes reelection campaign received $150,000 from an entity linked to the wife of a defense contractor whose firm Collins helped land a federal contract, new public records show.

Why it matters: The executive, Martin Kao of Honolulu, leaned heavily on his political connections to boost his business, federal prosecutors say in an ongoing criminal case against him. The donation linked to Kao was veiled until last week.

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How cutting GOP corporate cash could backfire

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Companies pulling back on political donations, particularly to members of Congress who voted against certifying President Biden's election win, could inadvertently push Republicans to embrace their party's rightward fringe.

Why it matters: Scores of corporate PACs have paused, scaled back or entirely abandoned their political giving programs. While designed to distance those companies from events that coincided with this month's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol, research suggests the moves could actually empower the far-right.

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