Understanding China’s investigation of Google for antitrust violations

China retaliated against the U.S. by imposing tariffs on various imports like coal, liquefied natural gas products, and crude oil. Additionally, an antitrust probe into Google was announced, along with placing two other American companies on an unreliable entity list that could prevent them from investing in China.

China and Google have had a long and entangled relationship going back to the early 2000s.

Here’s a look at Google’s history in China and what the antitrust probe means for the company:

What is Google’s relationship with China?

Google established google.cn, a Chinese-language search engine, in 2006. Despite complying with Beijing’s censorship regulations, it held a significant market share of about 36% in 2009.

Following a cyberattack and growing reluctance to adhere to censorship guidelines, Google opted to discontinue censoring search results in 2010. Consequently, the Chinese search engine was shut down, and users were redirected to Google’s Hong Kong site.

Beijing later blocked Google services under its Great Firewall censorship system, including its email service Gmail, as well as its Chrome browser and search engine, making it inaccessible to users in mainland China.

China typically blocks most Western internet platforms, such as Google, as well as social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

Does Google still operate in China?

Although Google services are not accessible in China, the company still maintains a presence in the country, primarily focused on sales and engineering for its advertising business. It also has employees working on services including Google Cloud and customer solutions.

Google maintains offices in the major Chinese cities Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Why is China investigating Google?

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said Tuesday it was investigating Google on suspicion of violating antitrust laws.

While regulators did not provide further details, the announcement came minutes after the 10% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump came into effect.

What does this mean for Google?

As there are few details on what exactly Google is being investigated for, the immediate impact on Google operations is unclear, although its current status is unlikely to be affected by the probe, which could takes months.

Google did not immediately comment on the investigation.

Some experts believe that the antitrust investigation is likely to center around Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and used as a bargaining chip in the U.S.-China trade war.

John Gong, a professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics, said that the investigation could be related to Google’s dominance in the Android business, as virtually all smartphone brands apart from Apple and Huawei would have to pay licensing fees to Google to use the Android system on their devices.

“Now, this time, Google is put on the chopping board. But I think it’s still an investigation, right? It hasn’t reached a decision yet,” said Gong, adding, “I think it’s very much negotiable.”

Huawei developed its own HarmonyOS operating system after it was placed on the U.S. entity list — foreign individuals, companies and organizations deemed a national security concern — in 2019, which prevented it from doing business with U.S. firms including Google.

Google has been accused of violating antitrust law in other countries, including those in the European Union, South Korea, Russia, India and Turkey, for allegedly abusing its market dominance.

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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.