HONG KONG — The Chinese government has initiated an antitrust investigation into Google, marking a notable chapter in the long and complex relationship the tech giant has had with China since the early 2000s.
This investigation is part of a sequence of retaliatory actions announced by China in response to a recent 10% tariff imposed on Chinese imports by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Additionally, the Chinese government implemented tariffs on American liquified natural gas and other products and placed two American companies on an unreliable entity list, which may restrict them from investing in China.
Examining Google’s journey in China reveals a lot about the dynamics between the two entities.
In 2006, Google introduced a Chinese-language search engine, google.cn, which was subject to censorship in accordance with Chinese regulations. By 2009, it commanded a substantial 36% market share in China.
However, following a cyberattack and growing reluctance to comply with censorship standards, Google announced in 2010 that it would cease filtering search results, subsequently shutting down its Chinese search site and redirecting users to its Hong Kong platform.
This led to Beijing blocking Google services, including the Gmail email platform and the Chrome browser, rendering them inaccessible to mainland Chinese users.
The Chinese government typically restricts most Western internet services, including popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Despite the unavailability of its services within China, Google continues to maintain a presence in the nation, focusing primarily on advertising-related sales and engineering.
The company has established offices in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, along with employees who work on various services like Google Cloud and other customer-focused solutions.
The recent announcement from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation indicated a suspicion of Google violating antitrust laws, although specific details were not disclosed.
This announcement coincided closely with the implementation of the new U.S. tariffs.
The implications of this investigation for Google remain uncertain, as the details are sparse and its operations may not experience immediate effects.
The investigation process could extend over several months, and Google has refrained from commenting on the matter thus far.
Some analysts speculate that the focus may likely revolve around Google’s Android operating system, potentially serving as a leverage point in the ongoing U.S.-China trade conflict.
John Gong, an expert in antitrust law from the University of International Business and Economics, noted that there have been long-standing grievances from Chinese smartphone manufacturers regarding Google’s business practices.
Apart from Apple and Huawei, many companies are required to pay licensing fees to Google to utilize the Android system on their devices.
Gong remarked on the situation, expressing that while Google is currently under scrutiny, it is indeed in the investigatory phase without a definitive outcome yet and that negotiations are still possible.
After being placed on the U.S. entity list—which identifies foreign entities seen as a national security risk—in 2019, Huawei developed its own operating system, HarmonyOS, to mitigate the impact of U.S. restrictions that bar it from engaging with American companies like Google.
Globally, Google has faced accusations of antitrust violations in various nations, including the European Union, South Korea, Russia, India, and Turkey, for allegedly exercising its market dominance improperly.
