Google is looking for an ally in China to deliver its cloud services

Greg Sandoval/Business Insider

Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene

• Google is reportedly looking for a partner to deliver cloud services to China.
• The report comes as Google is said to be preparing a version of its search engine for China - and that complies with government censorship rules.
• Microsoft and Amazon have already tapped local partners in China to deliver cloud services, because of the country's strict rules around data needing to stay within its borders.

Google is looking to make a grand re-entry into China, after years away. Media reports earlier this week about Google's plans developing a special censored search product for China sparked outrage. But that's not the only effort Google has underway to tap into the world's largest internet market by users.

Google also wants to bring its cloud business to the Chinese mainland, and the company is recruiting a local ally to help make it happen, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.

Specifically, the report says that Google is in talks with Tencent, Inspur, and other Chinese companies - though the current trade tensions between the United States and China loom large over the negotiations, and Bloomberg cites a source saying that the plans may not move forward.

Under such a deal, Google's cloud partner would be responsible for hosting and delivering services like Google Drive and Google Docs to customers in China, from their own servers. It would give Google access to the tremendous Chinese market.

Because China has strict laws requiring that data needs to be stored within its borders, Google Cloud rivals Amazon and Microsoft have both tapped local allies, as well. In China, Amazon Web Services is delivered via Beijing Sinnet Technology, while the Microsoft Azure cloud is delivered via 21Vianet Group.

Those same laws also require that the Chinese government has some oversight of how data moves through digital networks. In that sense, this move might not sit well with Google employees, who are already upset over reports that the company plans to release a version of its search engine that complies with Chinese government censorship.

Google did not immediately return a request for comment.

Read the full Bloomberg report here>>

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