14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella is currently in China to meet with several local officials and discuss recent anti-trust investigations started by the country against his company and leading to raids on local offices and seizing of documents.
Details haven’t been provided by Microsoft, but a report by Reuters reveals that Satya Nadella plans to meet with several government officials to discuss the probe started two years ago.
Microsoft is betting big on China and the local technology environment, so it’s no surprise that the company is looking into ways to come to terms with the country’s requirements as far as its products offered locally are concerned.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook also visited China last month to meet with government representatives and discuss a series of matters regarding the local market. Earlier this year, it emerged that China asked Apple to provide access to iOS source code, a request that was quickly rejected by the company and that led to growing tension between the two sides.
China’s anti-trust investigation on Microsoft
But when it comes to Microsoft, the anti-trust investigation that’s still ongoing in China dates back to 2014, when the company pulled support for Windows XP.
The Beijing government asked Microsoft to provide the country with extended support for Windows XP beyond the April 8, 2014 date, but the company refused to do so and required an upgrade to a newer version of windows.
In exchange, China started boycotting Windows 8 and banned it on government computers, while several months later, the country slapped the company with an anti-trust investigation involving products such as Windows and Office.
Although Microsoft has tried to address these complaints several times and collaborate with China on finding a resolution, the company is still being investigated. Last year, Chinese prosecutors raided several Microsoft offices and seized documents and computers believed to hold evidence related to the investigation.
This is the second time Nadella travels to China to discuss the anti-trust investigation, after previously meeting with government officials in September 2014, only a few months after the probe started.