How to Trade on Google's China Problem (GOOG, BIDU, SINA)

The Chinese government is denying accusations made by Google Inc.

that Chinese authorities are interfering with the Google Gmail email service in China. The spat is just the latest in long running tensions between Google and the Chinese government. The mutual acrimony between Google and the Chinese government was first made public last year when Google announced that it would cease its practice of filtering search results for terms that the Chinese government attempts to block its citizens from looking up and reading about on the internet. Most other companies that provide internet search services in China voluntarily filter their search results because a failure to do so would be in violation of Chinese law and could hurt their business prospects there. Several months after its first public dispute with the Chinese government, Google said that it was the victim of Chinese-based cyber attacks targeting Chinese human rights activists. To date, China has denied all accusations that it has ever targeted Google or its users with cyber attacks and says that such accusations are baseless and without merit. Investors who feel that the latest tensions between Google Inc. (

) will have a negative impact for the company's long term growth prospects in the Chinese market may want to consider buying the shares of Google's Chinese rival Baidu, Inc.

, that does its best not to upset the Chinese government, like most companies operating in China. Sina Corporation

is another Chinese company that would likely benefit from Google's troubles in China. The company is a leading online media company and mobile value-added service provider for China and for the global Chinese communities.