China Declares Ban on Foreign Internet Investment

Is China ripe for Internet investment? The Chinese-language China.com portal is valued at more than a dollar for each of China's billion-plus citizens -- nevermind that most people don't even have phones. But investors were rudely reminded of the other problem with China -- authoritarian government -- when a high-ranking official announced a ban yesterday on foreign investment in mainland Internet businesses.

Chinese Minister of Information Industry Wu Jichuan told reporters, "No foreign investor is allowed to operate telecommunication networks or services." The comments appear to contradict promises that China made last spring during trade negotiations with the U.S. Those talks were broken off when the U.S. bombed China's embassy in Belgrade. MORE >>