Chinese mobile companies partner up to take on Google Play

Several mobile giants in China have teamed up to take on the Google Play store.

According to Reuters, Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo will create a platform together known as the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA), that will allow apps to be uploaded to their respective app stores simultaneously by developers outside China.

Overall, the four companies combined made up 40.1 per cent of handset shipments worldwide in the final quarter of 2019. To begin with, nine regions will be targeted including Indonesia, India and Russia.

A Xiaomi spokesperson denied Huawei's involvement with the project.

"Negotiation power"

“By forming this alliance each company will be looking to leverage the others’ advantages in different regions, with Xiaomi’s strong user base in India, Vivo and Oppo in Southeast Asia, and Huawei in Europe,” said Canalys vice president of mobility Nicole Peng.

“Secondly, it’s to start to build some more negotiation power against Google.”

Initially, the companies planned to launch the GDSA in March 2020, however with the coronavirus outbreak still ongoing it's unclear if the date has now been moved.

The coronavirus has been a worry for many companies with Apple recently restricting work-related travel until after the epidemic ends.