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SCMP Reporter

Microsoft is pursuing an aggressive staff recruitment drive in China with an eye to creating one of the most formidable software research and development facilities outside of the United States.
Its strategy is to push for a substantial increase in the number of  marketing, sales and support, and research and development staff for its research lab in Beijing as  it tries to stave off  competition from Linux suppliers and software pirates.
Microsoft China chief executive Tim Chen  said the company's efforts would support the mainland's software industry. 
Compared with other large multinational and even domestic ?enterprises, Microsoft's China headcount is small. The software giant has about 900 local staff, or as many as a medium-sized company in the mainland.
Mr Chen said Microsoft was determined to hire more local university graduates to fill jobs at its research and development group.
'Microsoft Research Asia has about 176 people, around 70 per cent of whom are Chinese university graduates,' he said.
  It would aim to increase its staff by up to 20 per cent a year.
Since the lab was formed in Beijing, researchers had made more than 70 key contributions to Microsoft products, from digital ink parsing and rendering technologies in the Tablet PC to advanced graphics for Xbox games, an English Writing Wizard in the Chinese version of the Microsoft Office System, and the AutoMovie feature in Windows XP Movie Maker 2.
Last November, Microsoft Research Asia set up the Advanced Technology Centre in Beijing to focus on a larger number of technologies and accelerate their transfer to Microsoft's product groups.
Microsoft's strong product strategy in China reflects a newfound confidence in the way it is doing business in the world's fastest-growing market for personal computers. 
Its difficulties in the mainland have partly been caused by the number of executives who have left the post of chief executive for China operations over the years.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said: 'I do think Microsoft has a stronger, smarter organisation in China.' 
Mr Gates promised that China would receive a significant por-?tion of Microsoft's US$6.8 billion annual research and development budget. 
He acknowledged the steady work of Mr Chen, who was hired to lead mainland operations early this year.
Mr Gates visited the mainland last week to give a speech to the State Council and to meet Premier Wen Jiabao last Wednesday. He said Microsoft and the central government were moving 'with a common purpose'.
'China has a lot it can do in using software to modernise its economy and to make a contribution globally to advancing the quality of software,' Mr Gates said. 
'And that is why Microsoft is very committed to work here, in partnership, with the companies, the universities, the government organisations, to push forward these developments as rapidly as possible.'
But Microsoft is also well aware that China has ambitious plans to grow its commercial software sector by strongly encouraging the use of locally made programs, many of which are based on Linux and other open-source systems.
 Last year, for example, the State Council reportedly ruled that all government ministries must buy only China-made software in their next upgrade cycle. The policy is meant to support China's software industry and protect state information security.
Gartner Research director Dion Wiggins  said: 'Microsoft's attitude towards competition has changed as a result of Linux and other open source software. Its business tactics are changing to focus on areas that have not been Microsoft's traditional strengths. 
'After several years of encouragement from the Chinese congress, more than a third of Chinese government ministries have begun moving to China-made software.'
The State Council forecast software sales in China would hit 250 billion yuan next year, with the country expected to post US$5 billion in software exports.
Mr Gates responded with a charm offensive designed to help grow Microsoft's youth user base. On Thursday, he visited the Beijing Normal University Affiliation Experimental High School to mark the first project under its Partners in Learning agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Education, signed last November.
 Mr Gates launched the first of 100 computer classrooms under a US$10 million commitment to bring information technology training to many of China's most remote areas by the end of next year.



Microsoft to boost China research