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In a way, News Corporation’s decision to give up on building a broadcasting business in China on its own is a sign of the times. The feelings of Western business towards China in general have cooled, and rarely a week passes without a new protest over discriminatory policies or arrogant attitudes from Beijing. But while these complaints are reactions to a relatively new and surprising trend, News Corp’s move was long overdue.

The hope of Rupert Murdoch, the group’s founder and chairman, that he could charm the Chinese government into letting him broadcast to the homes of the average Chinese in their local language was a pipe dream all along.

While China’s ruling Communist party has undergone major shifts in its attitude towards the free market in general, its views on how the media should be regulated have barely changed since Murdoch started investing in China.

Back then, Beijing rejected any notion of private or even foreign investment in the media sector. Over the years, it allowed a little bit of flexibility in the production of television content. That came in full recognition that as long as party and government retained their stranglehold over the broadcasters, those owning the distribution channels for that content, no harm could be done.

Over the past year or so, Beijing has embarked on a new push for “reform” of the domestic media, including suggestions that the broadcasters owned by provincial governments become more commercially oriented. The basis for that policy, however, is that the groups restructure by separating content production and distribution.

Chinese leaders have shown the same insistence on some core principles in their dealings with Rupert Murdoch.

When Star TV, News Corp’s Asian television network, had just set up a local unit in China, Jamie Davis, Star TV’s China head, described the business model. “Everything in China is all about relationships and about mutual benefit” he said. “I think Rupert Murdoch has a very good relationship with the Chinese government . . . and we work hard at it.”

Subsequently, it turned out that Mr Murdoch’s aspirations in this relationship went way beyond the Chinese government’s bottom line. And in that case, even relationships don’t help in China.

Related reading:
News Corp sells control of China TV channels, FT