China investigates Google, an American company, over antitrust concerns

China has recently announced an antitrust investigation into Google while responding to Trump’s tariffs that could make your PCs and smartphone parts a lot more expensive.

The state’s Administration for Market Regulation agency suspects the American company of violating competition laws. While the probe’s impact on Google remains unclear, it follows longstanding complaints from Chinese smartphone makers about its Android business practices.

The investigation was announced just minutes after Trump’s new tariffs on China took effect, which makes it a possible retaliatory move.

Still, though, Google has a limited presence in China, as its search engine has been blocked since 2010 due to censorship disputes. Since then, Chinese users have been relying on domestic alternatives like Baidu and WeChat, although Microsoft Bing is also available but heavily censored.

China also responded to Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods by imposing its own tariffs on select US imports. The Chinese tariffs include 15% on coal and LNG, along with 10% on crude oil and other goods, while the state has also tightened export controls on critical minerals.

The race to the top of the tech industry’s food chain still continues. Taiwan, however, remains unfazed by Trump’s tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, saying that it’s a “win-win” scenario that could boost US domestic production.

The tech race between the US and China has also been intensifying recently as Chinese AI firm DeepSeek emerged as a major competitor in the AI race, which also impacted the US market with a $1 trillion loss in the stock market.