Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday he expects Beijing to renew the license the company needs to continue operating its search engine in the Chinese mainland.

Last week, Google stopped redirecting users in the Chinese mainland to its Hong Kong-based site after mainland officials warned that the move could mean losing its license.

Talking with reporters at the annual media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, hosted by investment bank Allen & Co, Schmidt said, "We now expect a renewal."

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif, does not hold the kind of dominant position in the mainland search market that it does in the US. The search engine operated by mainland competitor Baidu has about 60 percent of the market to Google's 30 percent.

Schmidt did not say when he expects Beijing to give it the OK. Google's license runs though 2012 but needs a renewal each year.

The application to renew Google's Internet service provider license is being reviewed by the government and it may take some time before the results come out, according to earlier report this week, citing the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Wang Lijian.

Google's standoff with the Chinese mainland began in January, when the company said it would stop censoring search results, violating government rules.

Google rose $6.36 to $456.56 Thursday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have fallen 26 percent this year.