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Google shuts down Translate service in China citing low usage

By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted October 9, 2022

Google terminated its Translate service in China, winding up one of the few remaining services the firm still offers in the leading internet market.

The move effectively ends one of the US giant’s final remaining products in the world's second-largest economy.

Google Translate's dedicated mainland China website now redirects users to the Hong Kong version of the service.

However, it is not accessible from the Chinese mainland.

Google said: “We are discontinuing Google Translate in mainland China due to low usage.”

Google's relationship with the Chinese market has been strained.

Because of tight government regulation online, the tech titan withdrew its search engine from China in 2010.

The Chinese government effectively barred its other services, including Google Maps and Gmail.

As a result, local rivals such as Baidu, a search engine, and Tencent, a social media and gaming behemoth, have grown to rule the Chinese internet terrain in areas ranging from search to translation.

Google now has a very minimal presence in China.

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Some of its hardware, like smartphones, is manufactured in China.

Last month, it was claimed that Google has moved some of its Pixel smartphone manufacturers to Vietnam.

The business is also searching for Chinese developers to create programs for its Android operating system that will be available through the Google Play Store, which is now restricted in China.

Google was considering reentering China with its search engine in 2018, but the initiative was canceled due to employee and political backlash.

American firms have been caught in the crossfire of ongoing technological concerns between the US and China.

Washington remains concerned about China's possible access to key technology such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

Nvidia, a US chipmaker, said in August that Washington will restrict the company's sales of particular components to China.

Source: CNBC

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