China office browser developer denies cloning Google
Domestic office browser developer Redcore claimed on Thursday that its kernel is not simply “a Google kernel covered with a proprietary coat,” but a system with innovations and modifications, although the company did admit that it was developed based on Google Chrome.
“Our browser was developed based on the open source of Chrome architecture, with innovations, and was uniquely designed to meet the needs of Chinese corporate users,” Redcore said in a company statement released late Thursday.
The response followed media reports that the firm had marketed its product as “China’s first domestically developed innovation intelligent browser kernel that will break the US monopoly.”
But some netizens found that Redcore’s browser installation directory was highly consistent with that of Google Chrome when decompressing its installation file. The netizens also said that they even found one file containing Google’s logo in the system.
The Chinese company just wants government money, according to some netizens.
Redcore CEO Chen Benfeng clarified that the firm’s browser was developed based on the Google Chrome browser kernel, but stressed that the system was uniquely designed to meet the needs of Chinese corporate users, Caijing reported Thursday.
“We did not use national funds and our customers are all corporate users. There is no special emphasis on government users,” Chen noted.
A major investor in Redcore told the Global Times on Thursday that there is no need to blame the company’s efforts to innovate and modify a system based on the source code of a foreign browser’s kernel, as this is normal in the industry.
“The Redcore browser is completely self-controlled and advanced compared with some products in the domestic industry,” he noted.
“The problem lies in the fact that Redcore has hyped its product, but it is also possible that the company could achieve a completely proprietary kernel one day,” the investor added.
Redcore finalized a round of financing worth 250 million yuan ($36.3 million) on Wednesday, with its investors including government customers and large listed Chinese companies.
The Global Times could no longer find the download link for the browser on Redcore’s official website as of press time on Thursday.
“We removed the installation file from the website because the technical department has launched an emergency plan and is undergoing self-examination,” said Gao Jing, co-founder of Redcore, according to a report on news website chinanews.com on Thursday.
Li Yi, a senior research fellow at the Internet Research Center under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that the news sparked much debate online since it comes amid foreign countries continuously increasing restrictions on some core technology for China.
“The successful financing of the company, with both investors from the government and famous venture capital companies, shows that China has been ramping up efforts to develop independent high-tech products such as kernels and chips, to shake off its reliance on foreign countries,” Xiang Ligang, chief executive of telecom industry news site cctime.com, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Li noted that the case shows it’s obvious that China still has a long way to go in the sector. Companies try to win more financing in the name of “proprietary” development need closer monitoring and regulation.