Google Inc. stopped censoring the Internet for China by shifting its search engine to Hong Kong on March 22 but said it will maintain other operations in the country.

The maneuver attempts to balance Google's disdain for China's Internet rules with the company's desire to profit from an explosively growing market.

Google's decision comes after an impasse pitting the world's most powerful Internet company against the government of the world's most populous country. But it's not clear Google has resolved the standoff that began Jan. 12, when Google said it would no longer adhere to China's requirement that it keep some Internet results out of its citizens' view.

China reacted to Google's move by saying the Internet search giant was "totally wrong" and had "violated the written promise it made on entering the Chinese market," signaling a tough line over the dispute.

The decision comes amid heightened tension between Beijing and Washington over a range of issues, from Internet freedom to the yuan exchange rate, economic sanctions on Iran and U.S. weapons' sales to Taiwan.