Google wants to launch its Play Store in China next year

“The interesting thing is that Google never left China”. According to Reuters’ sources, the search giant is looking to launch the Google Play Store sometime after the Chinese New Year in 2016.

The company, which is part of parent firm Alphabet Inc.

The report cites “people familiar with the matter”, although no official word from Google has been given thus far.

Since refusing to self-censor its search results was a sticking point in Google pulling its services out of China back in 2010, the company aims to comply with a few requests to filter content that might be interpreted as touchy by the country’s Communist Party. If it goes well, it could pave the way for Google to introduce more business in China in years to come.

Android is the most-used mobile operating system in China, but most users don’t have any Google apps on their phones.

The added support meant that developers in China were able to peddle apps in over 130 countries worldwide.

It remains to be seen whether Google’s re-entry into China will be too little, too late. The company wants to use the Play Store as a launch pad to bring its other services, such as Gmail and Google Maps, into the country.

For Google, having a product in China would be a symbolic gesture to show that the company values the market, said Shen Si, CEO of Chinese mobile advertising company PapayaMobile and a former Google employee.

Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and other top brass have made no secret that the company wants to get back into China, and Google Play would likely be its first foray.

The app store is expected to include payment options Alipay, the online service from Alibaba group and Tencent’s WeChat Payments.

When asked about Google’s plans, a Singapore-based Google spokesman declined to comment.