Search engine giant Google has embarked on a hiring spree in China, despite its recent censorship-related problems with the government that saw many top engineers and executives leaving the company.

Google lost ground in the Chinese search engine market to Baidu and other players, but, according to Xinhua, it intends to hire more people to bolster its existing team.

It said openings would be in its research and development, product management, user experience designer, sales, operation, recruiter and marketing sections.

The search giant added 2,000 more employees in the first half of this year across the global and currently has staff strength of around 22,000.

The recruitment plan comes after the government renewed Google's Internet Content Provider license earlier this month.

Analysts said the move is the first step by the search giant to regain market confidence in China.