China Drops Antitrust Case Against "Google" in Tactical Move Focusing on "Nvidia"
Informed sources told the "Financial Times" that Chinese authorities have concluded their investigations into the antitrust case against the American company "Google", coinciding with intensified trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, which focus on the "TikTok" application and the chip company "Nvidia".
The investigations, which were officially launched last February, focused on the dominance of the "Android" operating system owned by "Google" and its impact on Chinese phone manufacturers like "Oppo" and "Xiaomi" who use the same system.
The decision to drop the case indicates a reassessment by Beijing, which is currently shifting its regulatory power towards "Nvidia" _the world's largest chip manufacturer_ to use it as leverage in US-China trade talks. This move also sends "positive signals to Washington that Beijing can be flexible in negotiations", according to the newspaper.
One source explained to the newspaper the selective nature of the action, saying: "China drops one case while retaining another, as it tries to narrow the retaliatory targets to make them more effective".
China had opened its investigations into "Google" and "Nvidia" earlier this year, following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who "initiated a trade war against America's major trading partners".
This decision came alongside trade talks between the two countries that took place in Spain this week, during which it was announced that a "framework agreement on the fate of TikTok in the United States" had been reached.
In contrast, preliminary results of the Chinese investigation into "Nvidia" revealed that the chip company "violates antitrust laws", and subsequent reports indicated that Chinese authorities requested local tech companies to stop purchasing artificial intelligence chips from the American company.
