Baidu meets top officials; Qunar announces US IPO

Robin Li, chief executive of internet search giant Baidu (BIDU.NASDAQ), met with two senior government officials, the latest in a series of high-level official visits to web companies as the country tries to tighten control over the sector, the Wall Street Journal reported. Li met with Li Changchun, China’s propaganda chief, and Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, both members of the Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo, to give information about the company’s business and receive “important information.” Meanwhile, Qunar.com Information Technology, a travel search company owned by Baidu, announced it plans to launch an IPO on US markets next year. Qunar’s plans come despite US market volatility and corporate governance concerns about US-listed Chinese firms. Baidu announced in June it would make a US$306 million investment in Qunar, which could help strengthen any future IPO.