Google reportedly might return to China through an Android apps store for mobile devices, after the company transferred its online search service in 2010 from mainland China to Hong Kong. A Google Play store would represent the company's return after leaving due to a censorship battle and cyberattack on Gmail users.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on September 4, Friday that Google is reportedly in negotiations with Chinese authorities to open the Android store for smartphone apps. Gmail email and other Google services are blocked in China, according to Channel News Asia.
The majority of the world's mobile devices are powered by Google's Android operating system (OS). It is available for smartphone producers throughout the world at no charge, according to NDTV. That includes China.
Xiaomi and other Chinese smartphone manufacturers develop their own Android versions. Meanwhile, WSJ reported that companies such as Baidu operate app stores that pay no royalties to Google.
The problem could be solved by taking steps such as launching a Google Play online store for apps that are Chinese government-approved and not "objectionable." Those apps would also have to be installed on Android's licensed versions.
Google would have to rely on Huawei and other domestic partners to include Play Store on smartphones sold in China. It is unclear what China could offer its partners.
The app shop has been a work in progress for Google during the past year. It hopes to open the online store, which might include Android Wear apps, by the end of this year.
However, there is still bad blood between Google and China's government. After the tech giant announced last month that it would become a subsidiary of the umbrella company Alphabet, within one day its website was shut down in China.
Google's Android OS was launched in September 2008. It dominates over fourth-fifths of the world's smartphone market.
This video explains the Gmail block in China: