Google Pulls Plug on Translate App for China in Ongoing Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- Google shut down its Translate app for China, ending one of the few remaining services the US giant still operates in the world’s biggest internet arena.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Trump Says US Agency Packed Top-Secret Documents. These Emails Suggest Otherwise.

• Musk Revives $44 Billion Twitter Bid, Aiming to Avoid Trial

• Secretive Chip Startup May Help Huawei Circumvent US Sanctions

• Mar-a-Lago Documents Included Pardons, Emails, Legal Bills

• Stocks Take Breather After Furious Rally From Low: Markets Wrap

The service’s web page in China now shows a photo of a generic search bar that redirects to Google’s Hong Kong translation site, which isn’t accessible from the mainland. “We have discontinued Google Translate in mainland China due to low usage,” a company representative said in a statement.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which pulled its search engine from mainland China in 2010 because of the government’s censorship of internet content, has explored ways to retain a foothold in the market. It made its translation service available to users in the country in 2017 via a dedicated website and smartphone app. Google had also considered a separate, prototype search service for the Chinese market, but said later that project was terminated.

The translation service’s discontinuation comes as US-China tensions have ratcheted up and both countries move to protect sensitive technologies and intellectual property. It comes at a sensitive time, with a key Party Congress set to start this month.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• The Massive Gas Field That Europe Can’t Use

• Millions in Cryptocurrency Vanished as Agents Watched Helplessly

• Musk Won’t Own Twitter Until the Shareholders Get Paid

• Pfizer Needs to Prove It’s Ready to Move On From Covid-19

• Even After $100 Billion, Self-Driving Cars Are Going Nowhere

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.