Update: A Google spokesperson told 9to5Google that it has actually not made any changes to Google Maps for China, adding that a web version has been available for years, with no app launches planned. The original story follows, but it appears Nikkei’s report, on which this and other stories were based, is not correct.

It has been roughly eight years since Google pulled nearly all of its services from China after it refused to go along with government censorship requests, but now Google has tentatively returned to the country with a version of Google Maps made specifically for China.

Nikkei reported today that the China-specific version of Google Maps is currently available as a website and as an app for Chinese iPhones. However, if users attempt to access navigation features through Google Maps, they are instead redirected to an app from AutoNavi, which is owned by Chinese megacorp Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

According to Nikkeil, some users have reported that Google Maps seems to be using the same mapping data as AutoNavi, suggesting that the two companies may have formed a partnership.

Returning to the Chinese market would open major opportunities for Google, and the relaunch of Google Maps is just one example of the company’s renewed interest in China. In December, Google opened an AI lab in Shanghai, and earlier this month the company participated in a Series D investment round for Chushou, a Chinese livestreaming service for mobile games. Google Maps is a safe way for Google to return to China without running into conflict with the government, but unless Google has changed its stance on Chinese censorship, it is unlikely that its more problematic services such as Google Search, Gmail or YouTube will find their way back to China anytime soon.

Last year, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology launched a 14-month campaign to tighten internet regulation, which started with a ban on the use virtual private networks without explicit approval from the government. The ministry claimed at the time that China’s internet “has signs of disordered development that requires urgent regulation and governance.” The campaign, which will continue through the end of March, also involves investigations into internet service providers and other related businesses.

Google is not the only western tech giant to have run afoul of China’s internet censorship laws. Others include Facebook Inc., whose social network has been banned from China since 2009, and Microsoft Corp., whose video chat service Skype was recently pulled from the Apple App Store in China after the country’s Ministry of Public Security said it didn’t comply with local law.

Photo: Google