China said it had started an antitrust investigation of Google, which works with Chinese companies on smartphones and advertising outside the country.

The Chinese government's move to open an antitrust probe into Google is the latest development in a long and tangled relationship that goes back to the early 2000s. The investigation was one of a flurry of Chinese retaliatory measures announced Tuesday in response to a 10% tariff imposed by U.

China's antitrust investigation into Google, which does not offer most of its consumer-facing services including search and email in the country, seems to make little sense on the surface, but analysts said the move could be seen as a warning shot to the US and a threat to the Android operating system.