The investigation was announced by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China (SAMR).
The investigation was initiated because “Google is suspected of violating the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China,” according to the market regulator’s statement.
Reuters reported in September 2020 that China was preparing to launch an investigation into Google. Sources at the time suggested that the investigation could be triggered by Google's dominance of the Android operating system and its suppression of competition.
The announcement of the investigation came immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on goods from Beijing, which, as Bloomberg notes, “rekindled the trade war between the world’s largest economies.”
In response, China also introduced retaliatory measures, including a 10% tariff on imports of oil and agricultural machinery, and a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from the U.S.
“Google in China is already in a disadvantaged state: Google Search has not provided its services since 2010, and the other services are very difficult to access. The details of the alleged infringement are not disclosed - perhaps it is really related to the dominance of the Android system,”
says Maria Belyaeva, an expert at the BRICS Competition Centre.
In light of the trade war between the United States and China, the mutual exchange of new trade tariffs and the problems with TikTok in the United States, it can be assumed that the decision to launch an investigation against Google was made for political reasons, the expert emphasizes.
Google stopped its internet and search engine services in China in 2010, but continues some operations including helping Chinese businesses looking to advertise on Google platforms abroad.
Google is facing regulatory scrutiny in several countries including the U.S. The company lost a lawsuit in August filed by the U.S government in 2020. It accused the firm of having a monopoly in the general search market by creating strong barriers to entry.
Following the ruling, the U.S. Department of Justice pushed in November for Google to divest its Chrome browser. The department also argued that Google should not be allowed to enter into exclusionary agreements with third parties such as Apple and Samsung.
Google is also currently being investigated by the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority over whether it has “strategic market status” under a new UK law.