Microsoft says gov officials made a sudden visit to their Chinese offices

Jul 28, 2014 11:20 GMT  ·  By
Microsoft China has already confirmed the unexpected visit from local officials
   Microsoft China has already confirmed the unexpected visit from local officials

The dispute between Microsoft and Chinese authorities continues, this time with the Redmond-based tech giant claiming that government officials made a sudden visit to their local officials today.

Reuters writes that although Microsoft has already confirmed the unexpected visit, the company has refused to provide any details and to give a reason, which makes many wonder whether this has something to do with the previous discussions between the two sides that also got Windows 8 banned on government computers.

"We aim to build products that deliver the features, security and reliability customers expect and we're happy to answer the government's questions," a company spokesperson was quoted as saying.

According to the same report, China's State Administration for Industry & Commerce visited several Microsoft offices in the country, including those in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

A couple of months ago, the Chinese government decided to ban Windows 8 on their computers, with people familiar with the matter suggesting that this could be a way to take revenge for the Windows XP end of support that came into effect in April.

Microsoft last year worked with the Chinese authorities to purchase legitimate Windows XP licenses, so the government considered that the software giant should have provided extended support given the fact that these licenses have only recently been purchased.

Microsoft obviously rejected this request and told Chinese authorities to upgrade to a newer operating system just like it’s the case of all the other countries across the world.