Chinese experts believe that the deadlock over the Google case would give a golden opportunity to the US to employ a hard-line approach towards China and shift focus from its "smart diplomacy" - coined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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" had not worked very well with Beijing.

"Now, she is focusing more on issues like human rights and press freedom. The Google case is part of that," China Daily quoted Jin, as saying.

While the experts termed Google's possible exit as a "politicised affair", they urged the Chinese government 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.

"The government should oppose Baidu's monopoly if Google leaves," Jin said.

However, Yu Guoming, the vice-president of the Journalism School at Renmin University, said it would be a huge loss both for China and Google, if the company did leave.

"China had a lot to review over the Google case. China's Internet censorship system is not transparent enough," he said.

"But, the key is that the law enforcement needs to be transparent. Many contents are censored not for national security reasons, but to protect some interest groups," he added.

In January, Google threatened to stop censoring its results on Google.cn and pull out of the country. (ANI)