Microsoft has shut at least 15 China offices and joint ventures in five years and considered exiting the market in 2023, as US-China tensions, regulations and technology curbs weigh on its business
Microsoft has shut at least 15 China offices and joint ventures in five years and considered exiting the market in 2023, as US-China tensions, regulations and technology curbs weigh on its business
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The year was 2010 and Google was about to exit due to concerns over censorship and cyberattacks. That decision was lauded by democracy activists, but not Bill Gates and Microsoft's then-CEO Steve Ballmer, who suggested Google was overreacting. In the past five years, however, at least 15 Microsoft branch offices and joint ventures in China have been shut, corporate filings show, and Microsoft is pursuing what five company sources described as a strategy of retreat.
