Following the re-establishment of its Beijing research and development center in 2009, Yahoo has recently set up its seventh research institute in Beijing.

The Yahoo institute in Beijing, led by Zhang Zhaohui, will focus on the search, advertising, media and mobile fields and make algorithm improvements and innovations for Yahoo's existing core products.

The Yahoo Beijing institute is located at the same place as Yahoo's Beijing research and development center, one of the three major Yahoo R&D centers across the world. Yahoo Beijing R&D center is reportedly the first official organization re-established by Yahoo after it sold its Chinese businesses to Alibaba and symbolically withdrew from China.

Local media reports that the establishment of the new Yahoo institute makes the relationship between Yahoo and Alibaba a little awkward. However, Yahoo made no comment on this matter, while Alibaba reiterated its previous stance, stating that Yahoo can only be engaged in R&D in China but not directly run an Internet business, according to the previous agreement signed be the two parties.