Baidu denies cooperation agreement with Facebook

Baidu has denied reports citing so-called "internal sources" saying that Baidu will sign an agreement with Facebook to build a new website enabling the Internet giant to enter Chinese market, according to Sohu IT.
Internal sources allegedly revealed on April 11 that Facebook has signed a cooperation agreement with Baidu to establish a new website in the future, and Facebook will also take this opportunity to officially enter the Chinese market.
According to sources, instead of connecting with the Facebook website, the website that will be co-established by Facebook and Baidu will be a new social networking service website. Currently, the specific time of the new website's launch is still uncertain.
Several foreign media groups have also reported that Facebook has agreed to cooperate with Baidu and is about to enter the Chinese market.
It should be noted that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, has been in contact with Li Yanhong, chief executive officer of Baidu. Officials from Baidu previously said that Zuckerberg and Li maintain a very good personal relationship, and the two sides have begun to discuss the cooperation issue.
News that Facebook is planning to enter the Chinese market has been heard many times before. Facebook had registered .cn domain name as early as 2007 and the news that Facebook would enter the Chinese market in 2007 was spread at one time. However, Li Jiacheng subsequently confirmed in March 2008 that he had invested more than 100 million U.S. dollars in Facebook and in June 2008, this social networking website also introduced a simplified-Chinese version.
In regards to the mentioned information, Sohu IT called Baidu, and related officials said that they have not heard of any matters relating to the cooperation with Facebook.
By People's Daily Online
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