As the Chinese government continues its pat down of Microsoft's operations, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is planning to a trip to China in September.
As typical regarding the travel plans of Microsoft executives, Nadella's agenda remains undisclosed. The Microsoft CEO may direct some of his time to working with China's State Administration for Industry Commerce (SAIC), but a company spokesperson said the trip was scheduled before China's antitrust investigation began.
"Satya's trip was planned before the Chinese government investigation began," said a Microsoft spokesperson. "We're committed to complying with China's laws and addressing SAIC's questions and concerns."
Nadella took hold of Microsoft's reins in February. While it was unclear when China's investigation into Microsoft began, the Chinese government was said to have fielded anonymous complaints about the tech company's Windows and Office products in June 2013.
This July, Chinese regulators launched an unannounced probe at Microsoft's offices in Shanghai and Beijing. Chinese officers seized two computers along with an undisclosed amount of financial documents and digital data.
"Microsoft complies with the laws and regulations of every market in which we operate around the world and we have industry-leading monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure this," stated Microsoft in response to the raid. "Our business practices in China are designed to be compliant with Chinese law."
Late this month, the Chinese government alleged that Microsoft was concealing sales data about its media player and web browser applications.
You Youting, a partner at Shanghai Debund Law Offices, suggested that the allegations concerning Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer were an effort on China's part to buy itself time and keep Microsoft under the microscope as SAIC investigators probed other areas of the tech firm.
While the heat has been heavy on Microsoft's Chinese operations, Nadella's company isn't the only foreign company that has been heavily vetted by the Chinese government under the pretext of reviewing monopolistic practices.
Earlier this month, SAIC officials launched an investigation into Toyota's Lexus division. The probe appeared to have been directed at the prices of the automaker's spare parts, according to a pair of Toyota executives. The government also is looking at other foreign companies in China, including Qualcomm and German carmaker Daimler AG's luxury auto unit Mercedes-Benz.
Around the time China began scrutinizing Lexus' replacement parts, the Chinese government booted security firms off the country's list of approved vendors. The only foreign firms on the list, Russia's Kaspersky and the United States' Symantec, were removed because China said the vendors' product contained vulnerabilities that posed a threat to national security.
