Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site, is reportedly in “exploratory” talks to find a partner to enter China. From Bloomberg:
Entering China would give Facebook access to the world’s largest Internet market, with more than 457 million Web users. People who want to get on the social network there now rely on private-network services to circumvent firewalls that bar access to information the government deems inappropriate.
“We are currently studying and learning about China, as part of evaluating any possible approaches that could benefit our users, developers and advertisers,” Palo Alto, California- based Facebook said in an e-mailed statement.
Facebook, with more than 500 million users, aims to expand in other parts of the world to add members and advertisers. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg visited China in December and met with Internet companies including Baidu Inc. and Sina Corp. He also met with Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile Ltd., who said the pair discussed “the possibility of cooperation” in China.