Q: Yahoo! and Google have operated their businesses in Japan for years. They must have localized their technologies considerably by now. Does Baidu really have an advantage over them in the Japanese market?
Li: I know they've been localizing their technologies, of course. Yet I think our philosophies still have a major difference. Yahoo! China is sufficiently localized and Google China has hundreds of employees. However, they still depend on the US, not China, when it comes to making crucial decisions.
Both companies have a long history of business operations in Japan and, therefore, must have significantly advanced localization. But it's my understanding that they are developing their core search engines in the US, depending on their US headquarters.
From an early stage, Baidu has noticed users in China and Japan use search portals in a different way compared with users in the US. The Chinese, for example, have the custom of opening many new windows when surfing the net. There isn't such a custom in the US. User tastes vary in every market.
We, therefore, give weight to developing services and functions by coming face-to-face with each market. In our services for Japan as well, our Japanese staff is committed to developing functions and services optimized for the Japanese.
US companies, on the other hand, basically develop one standard product, targeting the whole world. I believe our company is superior to them in this respect and our engine can offer users better experiences. In my opinion, our success in China proves that our attitude has been right. I hope we will realize the success again in Japan.
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