China closes Google investigation during negotiations with the US

China has decided to end an antitrust investigation into Google, signaling a strategic shift amid negotiations with the United States over TikTok, Nvidia, and bilateral trade, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

According to two sources cited by the British newspaper, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has chosen to end the process relating to the formal investigation opened in February , which focused on the dominance of the Android operating system and its impact on Chinese manufacturers such as Oppo and Xiaomi.

The decision aims to focus regulatory efforts on the US company Nvidia , the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, turning the company into an instrument of pressure in talks with Washington.

At the same time, closing the case against Google sends “a positive signal” of flexibility, the same sources noted.

“One case is dropped, but another is captured,” one of the sources summarized, adding that China is seeking to restrict the targets of retaliation to increase its effectiveness.

Beijing and Washington held three days of trade negotiations in Madrid this week on tariffs, export controls, and the sale of TikTok , following previous rounds in Geneva , London , and Stockholm. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to finalize a deal on the app on Friday when he speaks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

According to sources, Google has not yet been formally notified of the end of the investigation.

Meanwhile, SAMR accused Nvidia of violating Chinese anti-monopoly law in its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, an Israeli-American supplier of networking products, a deal conditionally approved by Beijing in 2020. If the violation is confirmed, Nvidia could be fined between 1% and 10% of the previous year's revenue.

This week, China's internet regulator also banned major tech companies like ByteDance and Alibaba from purchasing Nvidia's artificial intelligence processors, specifically the RTX Pro 6000D, which was developed specifically for the Chinese market.

China opened investigations into Google and Nvidia earlier this year following Donald Trump's inauguration and the imposition of high tariffs on Chinese goods.

Although Google's search engine and most of Alphabet's services are blocked in China, the US company maintains commercial operations in the country, including advertising and cloud services for companies targeting international markets, such as the e-commerce platform Temu.