AN online post recently accused Baidu of not advertising for a Shenzhen company after it had signed a contract with the online search engine in March last year.

    According to the contract, the Shenzhen company had already paid 10,400 yuan (US$1,510) to Baidu for online promotion, but the search engine did not put up any advertisements for the company.

    Baidu said in response that the Shenzhen company had not provided the qualifications necessary to be advertised. Baidu is now in the process of refunding the company’s payment.

    In February last year, according to the online post, a salesperson from Baidu approached a Shenzhen company that owned an online shopping platform known as “Shopping Paradise.” The Baidu salesperson persuaded the company to promote the platform on the search engine by saying that “Shopping Paradise” was a buzzword that many netizens had searched for.

    During the negotiation, the Baidu salesperson, surnamed Liu, even promised to waive the 1,000 yuan account-opening fee for the company, so it eventually agreed to promote through Baidu.

    A sales manager from Baidu, surnamed Tan, came to the company’s office in person with two copies of the contract. The contracts were ready for the company to sign, complete with Baidu’s official seal.

    Due to the trust in Baidu’s big name and reputation, the Shenzhen company signed the contracts and paid the promotion fee at the same time. However, the promotions never came into being over the following months.

    Baidu explained that this was because the company lacked the qualifications, so its headquarters did not agree to promote it. The Shenzhen company later decided to withdraw their promotion deal with Baidu. (Zhang Qian)