US using Google case to 'act tough'

BEIJING - The Google case has given the US an opportunity to re-adopt its hard-line approach, and move away from the "smart" diplomacy it had used against China of late, experts tracking the issue said on Thursday

Calling the affair "politicized", the experts also suggested that the government take steps to ensure that a monopoly situation does not prevail in the search engine market. They were referring to the perceived gains Baidu, Google's arch rival in China, would make in case the US search giant pulled out of the country.

Professor Jin Canrong, a leading US studies expert at the Renmin University of China, said Washington was adopting a tougher approach, as the "smart diplomacy", coined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had not worked very well.